Mirror Images
by Geldyn Eyes
Summary: When her forced impersonation of the princess Kikyo goes horribly wrong, Kagome is forced to team up with none other than Kikyo's betrothed to find a way to save her. Too bad becoming a prophecy child wasn't in the job description...
1. Gilded Cage

Disclaimer: No, I am not smart enough to come up with this brilliant manga idea. Inu-Yasha is not mine, (though he's _really _hot) so go and sue some other scumbag! ^-^'

Mirror Images

Chapter One: Gilded Cage

It was a normal day in the market place, well, as normal as could be expected with all the gossip flying every which way and the rumors and talk of war from the commoners that had family and friends working in the palace. All the dirt roads were bustling with people, all of which were headed to different locations. The only problem now a day was that all the prices were rising because of the war. Kingdoms from all over were fighting for newly found land somewhere deep in the valley. It is said that the land was well nourished by a river, with many plants and animals possibly for cures and necessary needs. It seemed as though all the royal families thought it was paradise; too good to be true.

"Is that what all this rubbish is about?" An elderly lady cried, nearly in hysterics. The middle-aged woman she was talking to winced, but nodded her head. "My son was in a darn war forty years ago! Now my grandchildren have been taken into slavery because of _this _war! How much will us poor folk have to suffer?!?"

"It seems everyone wants a scrap of that land. I wonder if our Kingdom will intervene. The two Princesses must be taking this horribly! Especially with the thought of fighting against the Tetsui Kingdom."

"I heard it's already a done deal," a man who happened to overhear stated. "As of late last night, this Kingdom has entered the war. There have even been threats to the Princesses from other Kingdoms! It is said that one of the Princesses was terribly disappointed. Something happened. Everything is too 'hush, hush,' if you ask me."

"We _weren't _asking _you!_" The elderly lady snapped, turning to glare at the man.

He shrugged. "Have it your way. If you end up getting forced into slavery like your son, don't blame me."

"Who said I would?" She yelled angrily to the man's retreating back.

"He's right you know," the middle-aged woman said, deserving a glare from her neighbor. "There definitely _is _something we're unaware of, and I don't like it one bit."

"My dear, you're starting to sound like me."

I shook my head and edged away from the two gossips, making my way to the "monk's" shop. When I entered the little wooden shop I smelled all of the different assortments of herbs and incense of almost every kind. It was musty in the compacted room with shelves of books against every wall, from how to rid ghosts to what herbs can heal certain pains and cuts when combined. You would never guess what a troublesome "monk" this guy was unless you got to know him… or should I say… come close to him.

Miroku glanced up from what he was doing and offered a little smile. "Well, well, well? What brings you here?" he asked, indicating for me to come forward as he walked over to meet me part way. "Couldn't resist my monk-like charm?"

"No," I said flatly. Giving him a suspicious look, I told him the _real _reason I came here. "I need something for grandpa. He claims he sees monsters surround the palace at night and he thinks they might get smart enough to come here and attack him, along with the whole market place. Do you have some kind of a seal or something that will make him happy and think he's safe? He thinks they'll appear out of no where and attack the market place from the sky. Ridiculous, I know." By now I was fed up with grandpa's odd behavior. Why couldn't he be normal like everybody else?

"Ah, I see." He briskly walked over to one of the smaller bookshelves along the wall and reached up to the second top-most shelf, pulling down some of his banishment seals. "Why do you want something for him to 'think' he's safe when he can just use-"

I grabbed the seals out of his hand saying a quick, "Thank you." Following him to the counter I answered the question he left unfinished. "Because… as long as he thinks he's safe, Sota and I won't have to hear him complain anymore. He's starting to get Sota worried too, as if he doesn't think he's safe any longer either. You know how grandpa is. Besides, you don't really expect these things to _work, _do you?"

A shocked expression crossed Miroku's face, then it looked as if his pride had been smashed to pieces. I blinked. What was up with this monk anyway? "Well, I hope your grandpa and your brother are _happy,_" he stated rather huffily. 

I shrugged and handed over the little money grandpa had given me to buy this. Even in rough times like these, grandpa always seemed to have just enough money for whatever it was we needed, and I had no idea where he got it. He sure didn't work at such an old age. Sota was too young to make _that _much money, and all the money I made I put in safe keeping, where he never takes anything from. Sometimes it makes me wonder if he steals or something, yet that idea was too absurd. Still…

"_What _do you think you're _doing?!?_" I yelled, slapping Miroku—hard—across the face. "You _pervert!"_ I was sure my hand wouldn't ever stop twitching. I backed away from him, making sure he couldn't reach behind me, and glared. "Why are you so obsessed with my butt?!?"

He blinked almost innocently, and stated, "It's not just _yours_ I'm obsessed with, my dear Kagome—"

"Ugh! You are such a… such a _pervert!" _I stomped away, towards the door, and remembered that Miroku had a clear shot at my backside. I whipped around just in time, coming face to face with his intent stare. 

He grasped my hands in his and I gulped. _Oh, no. Not again,_ I whined to myself, taking a half-backward step. 

"Kagome, I know I ask you this every time you grace me with your presence… but-"

"Miroku," I interrupted, before he continued. He ignored me.

"Will you bear my child?"

I felt my eye start twitching as I clenched my fists. "No!" I shouted, fed up with this ongoing conversation even more than with grandfather at the moment.

"Ah, well, it was worth a try."

I jumped back and was out of his reach when he was still bringing his hands up from behind. I sighed with relief, knowing I escaped this once. He looked over at me like he was a baby and I had taken away his milk. I gave a short laugh, proud of myself, and said, "Not this time buddy." I left the shop, still smiling and not able to hide my glee. 

__

Grandpa, I thought wryly to myself, _If you see any more of those 'demons', you're going to have to go to Miroku's shop yourself! I am no longer your messenger-girl, and I can't take his curious hands any longer! _Then on a second thought I added, _What kind of a monk _is _he?!?_

By the time I finally came out of my thoughts and glanced around at my surroundings I had realized that I must have taken a wrong turn. Not only was I in some part of the market place I had never been in before, but there was a large group of squirming commoners like myself, mostly young girls and their fathers or mothers, crowding around… was it a guard? Two? Three? They were on large towering horses of a dark brown color, trying desperately to keep the magnificent creatures from bucking and hurting the people around them. They were carrying the Kingdom's flag high in the air, while one of the men read a proclamation of some sort. I stepped forward, curiosity getting the better of me. 

__

What now? I thought to myself, slowly dreading the answer. _They weren't here to take more people away to train them as soldiers, are they?_

"Yes, you have heard correctly," One of the men bellowed, causing all the young women to swarm in his direction. "You shall be a Princess for a long period of time! Finally you will be able to wear silk gowns, dance at balls, have young lords kiss your hands, and eat your full, living in a large room of your own corridors."

"Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!" One girl with light brown hair and green eyes was quite persistent, the wrap over her head sliding halfway out of her hair as the girls on either side of her tried to push their way through. 

"No me! Me!"

I raised an eyebrow. Now what was this all about? A girl could become a Princess? For a long period of time, huh? Well, there _had _to be a catch. The royal families don't just come down to the market place and pick a girl to home in their castle and feed them their food! I mean, _come on! _What was going on here?

Rolling my eyes, I turned and headed in the right direction home, reminding myself not to get caught up in any specific thoughts that will delay my errand further.

"Hey, you!" Someone shouted in a rough voice, loud and persistent.

A shiver ran up and down my spine. Some how I knew he was talking to me. I turned to look in the direction of where the voice had come from and came to the realization that things were far too quiet for my liking. Quiet was never a good sign.

"Y-yes?" I asked, regretting already what he was about to say next. I knew that whatever it was I wouldn't like it in the least. The man with black hair and a top knot on his head was starring directly into my eyes, subconsciously switching the flag he was holding into his other hand so his aching one could get a rest. 

He turned his horse in my direction, his jaw slack as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His companion's attention captured, the man holding the parchment looked in my direction, the utterly shocked look in his face causing me to gulp.

"Y-you… you look…" He stuttered, as if all knowledge of the written words he had learned to read and write were wiped from his memory, a humorous picture if you saw the proclamation in his hands and his mouth opening and closing as he gaped like a fish. 

I didn't laugh. Instead, I glared.

"It is done!" The man holding the flag yelled loud enough for all to hear. "We have chosen the temporary Princess! This young lady here!" He pointed in my general direction.

__

"What?!?" I gasped in horror. I didn't want to be a Princess! Who knows when I would see my brother and grandfather again? I even wanted to see my little cat! Cat? Now where did that come from? I don't have a cat! Commoners are too poor to even feed an animal or pet, let alone themselves! I didn't even have a mother or father for goodness sake!

"Aww!"

"No fair!" 

One girl stuck her tongue out at me, which was _completely _uncalled for, and _extremely _unladylike! Wait a second… since when did I care about what was ladylike or not? I always worked around the market place and helped grandfather sell his stupid 'antiques' and other little nick-knacks as I called them. One thing was some stupid rock that was called the Jewel of Four Souls and it happened to be quite common, though I can't imagine why. Why would people believe in something as ridiculous as that? I think it was also known as Shikon, or something like that, and even nobles would come asking to look at it. Weird.

"You are coming with us!" The man with the parchment boomed as he handed his scroll to his companion and urged his horse in my direction.

"No!" I yelled, horrified at the picture that was unfolding before me. _"No!"_

I turned and ran, anywhere but where I was. I had to, for my own good. I didn't know why I was so scared out of my wits, but I did know that if I didn't get away from there as fast as possible, worse things would happen, and I would be running my whole life practically. I couldn't let him catch me. I _wouldn't _let him catch me.

"I order you to stop!" He yelled, the horse's hooves beating faster and steadier on the ground, getting closer and closer.

I didn't listen. "No! Never! Why me? What do you have in store for me? Go _away!"_

I put a hand behind me as I kept on running. Out of no where a blast of pink energy erupted from it and blasted into the horse, deserving a gasp from me as well as all the other on-lookers that were moseying about.

"It really _is _her. She really… _would _be the perfect Princess…"

That was the last I heard. As I finally turned the corner, thinking I got away, I felt a searing pain at the back of my head as I started to fall to the ground. _What's going on? Why do I not want to go? How come…this is happening? Why me? _As I almost hit the ground the guard scooped me up and hauled me over the saddle of his horse. I dangled there helplessly, my vision blurred. The last thought to run through my mind was, _Grandpa, I don't think you'll be getting your protection seals any time soon. _Then I blacked out.

***** Time gap *****

__

Pain. An aching pain that went from the back of my neck all the way to the front of my forehead; that was all I could feel. Where was I? What was happening? That couldn't have been a dream! Ah, a softness at my back. So soft in fact, that it seemed I was floating in mid-air. Wait, did I feel…yes, a pillow, a nice soft pillow beneath my throbbing head. Why was I being treated so nicely? Did I dare open my eyes?

Yes. Slowly, at first my eyelids were stuck together, I peeled them apart. Automatically I squinted against the sunlight that was streaming through a nice sized window. No, wait a second, it was a large window. So large in fact that even being so far away from the bed I was in it looked pretty big. I tried to look around the room without having to move my head. It was large, with a desk and furnishings and pictures on the wall, and everything you could imagine. It was paradise! So beautiful! 

I sighed and slowly, trying not to make my headache any greater than it already was, I turned my head to the side. I had a feeling that things were going to change drastically around here. I still couldn't decide if I was better off being here, or if I should be at home, with my grandpa and little brother.

"Oh, good, yer awake."

"Huh?" I looked over in the corner of the room and saw a servant sitting on a stool knitting… I think.

"I'd best tell their majesties. They were ever so thrilled when you showed up here an' they got a good look at ye. I don't know if th' Princess likes the idea, but she'll be safer, that's fer sure."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, hopefully able to get some answers more soon than later."

"Oh, don't ye worry child. Ye may not be that old, but ye'll do. Ye should be pleased, serving yer kingdom like this."

"And just _how _am I serving my kingdom?"

Now the lady looked surprised, and I didn't like that look at all. "Ye mean ye don't know?"

Now I glared, getting thoroughly fed up with this. _"NO _I don't _know!" _

She hurriedly stood up and set her embroidery, it _had _to be that, down on the chair she had occupied only a few moments before. "Oh, dear. Ye poor child. Jus' remember it's a rare privilege, and Ye'll be able to suffer through it." _Suffer? I don't think I like the sound of that._ "Th' penalty is much worse if ye don't obey, so keep that in mind if ye want to keep yer head."

__

"What?!" I yelped.

"I think I'm causing even more damage. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Ye must do this! Ye must! We _need _ye more than ye can imagine. Please keep all the people in this kingdom fresh in yer memory when ye make yer decision. Yer our only hope."

With that said, her eyes flicking every which way like a startled bird, she scurried from the room. It was then that I started panicking. What could they possibly need _me _for? I am just a normal poor commoner. What is it that I could do to serve the Kingdom I live in? Nothing! Nothing at all! I couldn't do anything! I couldn't!

"So, you are awake."

I gasped and looked in the direction the deadly calm voice came from. Was that… the Princess? "What's going on? Why am I here? What purpose do you think I could serve here in the palace? _Who _are you?!?"

She didn't smile, didn't frown, didn't scowl. In fact, that kind of frightened me almost as much as it bothered me. "You are here for one purpose, and one purpose only. I am Princess Kikyo of this Kingdom. I am the oldest daughter, and heir to this thrown. You are here for only a certain amount of time, then you will go back to your pitiful little life, and live the way you were brought up to live." [AN: Ouch!]

"That _still _doesn't explain why I'm here." I managed not to yell or glare too horribly, I had to have _some _respect for royalty. Though I started to loathe it even more these days.

This time she gave a small merciless smile that scared the crap out of me. She looked deeply into my blue-gray eyes, her gray ones going right through me. "As I stated before, you are here for one purpose and one purpose only. To be me."

__

"What?!? Are you crazy? I can't be a Princess any more than I can _fly!"_

"Then you will have to learn."

"But…I…what about my family?!? Don't they deserve to know that I'm _here?"_

I didn't notice the other people waltzing into the room at that moment. They were all dressed in the nicest clothing I had ever seen, and the way the walked, how they held their head, I could tell that they must also be royalty. A little girl came out from behind her mother's skirts, a look of worry and interest crossing her features. Her mother, the Queen, was the one who spoke first, to the man I recognized to be the knight who captured me and brought me here.

"I thought you said she was exactly like my darling daughter Kikyo. She is nothing like her! Her tongue is sharper than her temper!" Even for the elderly age of the Queen and the few wrinkles around the edges of her mouth, her eyes were still as sharp and piercing as they must have been in her prime. 

"W-w-well, y-your Majesty, she _is _a lot like Princess Kikyo. She could _learn _to keep her temper bottled up inside her. Just _look._ She has almost the _exact _same features as lady Kikyo herself!"

"I don't see it. My daughter is _much _more beautiful."

__

Why you… I clenched my fists, trying my hardest not to sock the Queen right there.

"B-b-but…your Majesty… certainly she will _do._" She stubbornly looked away.

Now the other knight that was at the gathering in the market place walked in. I had a feeling he was listening at the door the whole time because he seemed to know the conversation that had gone on and what to say.

"Now, your majesties," he said, bowing to the King and Queen, then gave a nod in Princess Kikyo's direction, "This lass is the closest we could find to the lady Kikyo's stunning looks." Now I noticed him as the one who carried the flag. "She may not be a rare rose… but she certainly isn't a thorn! If you are so concerned that they could tell the difference, then have the lass wear a cloak. Unless you would rather we kill her now and forget about this whole situation."

__

"What?!?" I yelped. 

He ignored me. In fact, they all did. "I'm sure Princess Kikyo will last a _long _time being herself. It will save the enemies a lot of trouble if they capture her."

The Queen's face went pale and the King was outraged. The little Princess looked like she was about ready to cry.

__

"What is going on?!? I _deserve _an answer! I want to go home _now!"_ I said strongly, hoping that would capture their attention. 

The Queen's eyes flicked in my direction, then back to the knight. "She shall stay. I don't know what I was talking about earlier. Something came over me, that is all. She will stay in this room until further notice."

"But, love, Kikyo-" The King started to say, but the Queen sent him a stern look and cut him off.

"She stays, and that is the end of it. Come along Kikyo, Kaede." In a flourish of skirts, the ladies left the room; a grumpy King ambled behind.

"Well, _that_ was interesting!" the man said. He turned to his companion. "Toma, you dolt! Stuttering like that! It's a wonder this girl didn't loose her head!"

"I can't help it! You know how I feel when the Queen's around. She never listens to me!"

"I wonder why," he muttered under his breath, the turned to me and bowed exaggeratedly. "Lass, my name is Notaro. I was the one holding the flag when we met." _Ah, so I got it right. I still have no idea what's going on though and it's starting to make me _mad_! _"That baka over there is Toma. If you know what's good for ya you'll ignore him. I'm sorry he hit ya on the head like that. I think it was an accident, otherwise he never would have caught you."

"Hey!" Toma sounded offended.

"Great," I said wryly. "Now…" I took a deep breath, trying to stay under control and failing miserably. "What…am…I…doing here?!"

He blinked, his grin fading into a frown. "I guess no one told ya, huh?" 

"NO, NO ONE TOLD ME! DO YOU THINK I'D BE ASKING THIS IF I KNEW?!?" I screamed at the top of my lungs, panting with the effort.

He blinked as Toma cowered away. "You might want to sit down for this," he said calmly, his face solemn for the first time I've seen him.

"No thank you," I said curtly. "I've been sitting and lying down all day long. I will stand if you don't mind."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself. Well, you were brought here for-"

"For one purpose. I know. Tell me something I _don't _know."

He sighed. "You have to be Princess Kikyo for the time being. Until the end of the war."

"Why the end of the war? Why _me?"_

"Well, you look most like Princess Kikyo of course. And… well… the reason you have to be her until the end of the war is… in case something happens to her. To _you. _You have to take her place sort of like a replacement. The other kingdoms will think _you're_ her, so if they try to kill her… they'll kill…"

"They'll kill me instead." Dread slowly replaced my rage and I sunk down onto the bed. A chill ran up and down my spine as I tried to think of a way out of this. "What if… what if I refuse?"

He looked at me, pity replacing the sadness that was in his eyes. "They'll kill you. They can't let anyone know that someone else will be in lady Kikyo's stead. Then they'll find the _real _Princess and hurt her."

"So either way… I'm in a lose, lose situation."

"Not necessarily. If you refuse, they'll kill you. If you accept… you _might _be killed."

"And my grandpa and brother won't ever learn of my death? They won't be able to know where I am?"

"They will be notified that you are in good care-"

"Yeah, good care my…" I didn't finish what I was about ready to say.

"But they won't be able to know you are at the palace, or that you are in the Princess's place or else word would be spread and… we can't let that happen."

I nodded mutely. "What do I do?"

"You have to learn how to be a lady, and the Princess will be your companion. She'll most likely be dressed in servant's attire so they won't look her way twice. In front of other people, she serves you. But if ya know what's good for ya you'll serve her when you're alone. You _are _a commoner, remember. We can't let this get to your head."

I almost laughed. "This will _surely _get to my head. I can't wait to be bait and die or be tortured once captured. Oh, jolly me!" I said it sarcastically, and both Toma and Notaro winced.

"Well, you better get dressed. And you shouldn't tell anyone about your strange power."

I looked at him, confused. "Power? What power? I don't have anything like that! It's not even real. I'm _normal._ And I most certainly do _not _believe in demons or monsters! You must have hit _your_ head." 

Notaro's brows furrowed into a frown and Toma's eyes were wide in either shock or surprise, I couldn't tell. "I mean…you don't know?" Toma asked in a tiny voice.

I glared at him and he cowered back even further. "Know _what_?" I snapped.

Notaro looked at me with sadness and pity in his eyes. "Ya have a lot to learn lass, and I think tonight will be even more overwhelming yet. You will believe, and if ya don't… well…you'll die even sooner than ya want to."

"I don't _want _to die at all, thank you very much! I just don't seem to have much of a _choice!"_

He tisked and shook his head sympathetically. "Things are goin' to take an interesting turn. That's all I know, but at least I know it." _Now what nonsense was he talking?_ "Get changed. There's a dress for you on the chair. The maid must have picked it out. Now hurry up. Dinner is in forty-five minutes. I hope to see ya again before ya leave. Farewell."

He turned to exit the room, Toma scurrying to catch up to him when his last words finally registered in my mind. "Wait! Stop! When am I leaving?!? _Where _am I going?!? WHY WON'T ANYONE ANSWER ANY OF MY QUESTIONS?!? I NEED INFO!"

But it was too late. They already left. I let out a long annoyed breath and stomped over to where a big, poofy dress was spread out on the cushioned chair. Now how on earth was I supposed to put _this _thing on?

Just as that thought struck me, the door opened and a woman a few years older than me stepped easily into the room. She gave a small smile and a little curtsy as if unsure how to address me. Closing the door behind her she took me into the bathing room and that's where my makeover began. I was no longer Kagome, not to the people here. I was Princess Kikyo, and I had to get used to this at least until the end of the war, or until I died. I sullenly let the woman scrub my hair, feeling as if I had lost myself. Would I ever find myself again, or would I be stuck here forever? A tiny crystalline tear ran down my cheek, stopping in the middle of it. Change was approaching, and I didn't like it one bit.

After I was scrubbed clean of about a year's supply of dirt and dressed in the fanciest clothing I had ever worn, I looked at myself in the mirror. A ghost looked back at me. A figure that looked tired and sad, drained of all the life she had ever possessed. It wasn't me, and I didn't like it. I couldn't handle this change. It was too sudden!

"M'lady," the servant said, gently touching my arm and indicating to the doorway.

"Please don't call me that," I said, as if in a trance. "Call me Kagome, at least when we're alone. That way I won't forget who I really am."

When I looked into her eyes I saw it again. Pity. It was really starting to annoy me, and I wanted to scream and yell and throw a fit. I wanted to tear this silk gown, with all the ruffles and the lace. It was a stormy looking blue, and it matched my eyes perfectly. It was perfect, that's why I despised it.

Looking at myself from head to toe I tried to see a part of me, any part, that I recognized. My hair was down and there were tiny white flowers laced through it. The neckline to the dress was low cut and pearls bordered the neckline and the edges of the long sleeves. There was powder on my face to make my pale complexion even lighter and lip coloring kissed my lips. The dress tumbled beautifully to the floor, and my shoes matched perfectly. My eyes looked dull beneath my long lashes, and the smile left my face. Closing my eyes I looked away from the reflection and headed to the door. 

"Lead the way," I said, and the way she sighed I could tell she was relieved. 

Waiting outside of the bedchambers was Notaro. I was actually glad to see him. He _was _the only one who happened to tell me a _few_ things about what was going on. I had a feeling that my last nagging question would be answered tonight at dinner. We walked through the dark hallways in silence, small shimmers of light bouncing off the walls from through the large windows of the palace. It was either from the last minute rays of the sun, or the moon's soft gleam. I kept following the two people at an easy pace, looking straight ahead. The only sound I heard was our echoing footsteps as we went further and further through the castle.

It took me a while to actually look to my right and see that that whole side was glass with the exception of the frames that held the glass in place. Then I noticed that there was a shimmer of a magenta aura covering it. Why would that be there? 

**__**

Screetch!

I lurched to a halt, my heart beating rapidly. That wasn't what I thought it sounded like…was it?

Notaro and the maid stopped also, but only because they noticed I wasn't right behind them any longer.

"M-m'lady. We really must hurry. If we're late-"

"What was that sound?" I asked, eyes wide.

**__**

Reeet! 

"Oh, that? It's the Crow Demon. They don't pose much of a threat. The Princess put a barrier up around the whole castle, so they won't be able to harm us while we're inside. Don't worry." Notaro shrugged it off as though he just got a little cut on his finger for the hundredth day in a row. 

I gulped. _So grandpa was right. There really _are _demons that surround the palace at night. Now I wish I would have listened a little more._ _I have a bad feeling about this! _

"We're here," The maid said in a little voice. I hadn't even realized that I had started walking again.

__

Great, I thought, wry, _this is just what I want to deal with right now. _

"Lady Kagome, please come in," the Queen stated in a regal manner. It took only a second for me to realize that the reason she was being so nice was because the whole dinning hall was filled with people. I stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed, then realized it was rude and quickly shook my head to clear it. I stood up as tall as I could. They were _not _going to make a mockery out of me just because I was a commoner! I stepper through the large double-doors and passed Notaro and the maid, whom were holding them open.

"My Lords, my Ladies," the Queen announced loudly over the hush that fell over the people seated at the long table, "This is Kagome, and my future daughter for the time being, Princess Kikyo."

Applause filled the room and everyone started talking at once. I noticed that the room was only filled with trustworthy lords and ladies from the Kingdom, and that now it was official. I was Kikyo. _Princess _Kikyo. Kagome never more.

Sooooooooooooo????????? How do you like it? Please, tell me ALL of your thoughts! I have only read three Inu-Yasha stories so far and none of the fics I've read are at all like this one, but if you think I'm stealing someone's idea, please tell me! I don't like plagiarizers. Constructive criticism is welcome! ^-^ I _really _hope you like this! I'm sorry about the first time I up-dated this! I had a friend of mine, Sapphire Midnight, up-date this for me. She and JadeWing are the ones that got me started on this. They like Inu-Yasha a lot, but they both mainly have CCS stories up, though they are really good if I don't say so myself! ^___^ Well, I gotta change this chapter now, the next one will be up soon! I'm going to start trying it right after this one. Enjoy!


	2. Captured

Hi everyone! I'm _so _glad that you liked the first chapter! I hope this chapter gets finished tonight, but I highly doubt it because of the amount of homework I have. Have any of you seen the Inu-Yasha shows on T.V.?!? They are SO awesome! The anime is FANTASTIC!!! The blood is a little dark though and some of the voices COULD be better, but I'll get used to them. ^-^ he he he! Well, I better start the chap now. And you are ALL the greatest!

By the way, you don't have to worry, Inu-Yasha will be in either this chap. or the next one. I can't WAIT!!! He is a major hunk of beefcake, as JadeWing would say! He he he.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Inu'Yasha. Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo!

Mirror Images Chapter 2

Captured

*****Kagome*****

After the banquet I rushed to my room as fast as my legs would carry me; of course, that meant I took a few wrong turns and got lost and was all turned around by the time I got there. I couldn't take it any longer. It was horrible! Everyone at the table kept staring at me as if I was something on display. They would glare if I did _one _thing wrong and I could hear a few tisks when I forgot to place the napkin on my lap. Whoop-de-doo! What did they expect from me?!? To be some heavenly maiden that was perfect in every way? I'm human! A commoner at that! I wasn't brought up the way they were. They could glare at me all they liked but they just received a glared right back! They deserved it!

I slumped onto the large bed after closing the double doors behind me and felt like I was about ready to cry. How could life get any more dull? This was the way I had to live until I _die _as another person! 

"Ugh! This is so _stupid!"_ I yelled, but it was muffled by the pillow.

"I couldn't agree more."

I sat ramrod straight and gasped when I saw who was before me. "How'd you get in?" I asked, not very pleasantly.

"Seeing that this is _my _room, I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed in," Princess Kikyo stated as she put the picture she was looking at of her little sister back down on the table.

"This is _your _room?" I asked in astonishment and a little embarrassment. "Then what am _I _doing in it?"

"You are me, remember."

"Well…yes…but-"

"No. I came here to bring you to the practice fields. I need to teach you defense if you're going to be me. Besides, you need to at least know how to protect yourself, but _I _do come first."

I wanted to say something, none-to-pleasant to her, but settled for a glare instead. No use getting my head chopped off before I see if I can even save myself. _"You _practice? What? Make-up?"

Her icy eyes turned even more cold-if possible. "No; the bow and arrow. I'm _sure _you heard of it before." This time I heard the mocking in her voice and wondered why she didn't like this arrangement at all. _I _was the one being sacrificed! Not her!

"Yes, I know what the bow and arrow are thank you very much." I turned away from her. Why was she so irritating?!? Why did she hate me so? Was it because I wasn't as sophisticated and proper as she? Maybe my birthright? What?!?

"Come this way, then."

She turned on her heal and I suppressed a sigh. Not this again! I'm not one to play follow the leader if I don't know where I'm going! What is _with _all these secrets?

I stayed behind the Princess, trying to ignore all the rumbling sounds that were still trying to get inside. What was so special about this place that attracted demons? Was it the Princess herself?

"It's the scrolls."

I blinked. "What?"

"The reasons why the demons come here. I guard the scrolls that reveal the whereabouts to the hiding place of the Shikon Jewel."

"H-how did you know…"

"I just knew what you would probably be wondering right now."

"Oh." Then, "How many people know where this _jewel _is? If it's so special that it attracts so many monsters, then how do you know who or what you can trust?"

She stopped and turned to look over her shoulder. "No one knows, not even myself. The scroll won't open, there-fore it is pointless for the demons to go after it."

My brows knit into a frown. "Then why do you guard it if it's pointless? Wouldn't you be wasting your time and energy by protecting something of no value?"

She glared, her gaze rock hard. "Who are you to judge what is of worth? You have no idea what you're talking about, and you are getting in _way _over your head. For your information, the demons might know something we don't, and if they get a hold of the scrolls, and are able to open them, then we are all in imminent danger. That is why I guard them. Wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry?" She started walking down the dimly lit halls again, forcing me to follow after her or risk being lost forever.

"I don't see how I _can _be safe. What I'm doing is _suicide!"_

She didn't say anything, just continued to walk on ahead. I looked down at the marble floor. Everything was so dark and dreary here. Was it like this only at nighttime? I sure hope so!

"Princess."

"Hmm?" She asked. She didn't even paused or startle at my sudden voice.

"Why are you telling me this?"

We appeared at two large double doors intricately woven with designs of Priestesses and demons, and human-like foxes that looked sneaky and deceiving. There were so many carvings into the wood that at first glance you wouldn't even suspect that it _was_. Kikyo gently placed a hand onto the handle, which was a large slithery serpent. 

"Because. You will have to know sooner than later."

I knew what she was really thinking though. I'd probably die anyway so it didn't matter what she told me. I wasn't a threat, I was a savior; but to her I was just a replacement. She probably didn't care what happened to me one way or the other.

She pulled the door open with a large jerk and I squinted to see into the gray mist that was before me.

"This way," was all she said.

The room, once lit with candles, was _huge, _with brilliant golden colors and different kinds of weapons hung on the walls and leaned propped up against barrels of practice weapons. At first I couldn't believe my eyes, but they were working properly. It was my mind that couldn't take in the scene before me.

"You use all these?" I asked, unbelievably.

She looked at me as if I was a crazy person that should know everything…but didn't. I pursed my lips, wishing I hadn't said anything. 

"Not _all _of them, but I do use _most _of them. For practice anyway."

She led me in a few exercises with the sword, but with me not being able to handle it, quickly moved to the bow and arrow. She said that it was more important anyway, because that was what she was known for. What good would I be if I couldn't use them?

I couldn't use them.

The first try that I aimed at the bull's-eye in the target went straight towards it… and then fell to the ground about half way there.

"You said you've heard of the bow and arrow! You can't even _use _it? How are you supposed to be _me _then? Everyone and _anyone _will be able to tell the difference!"

"Hey! Practice makes perfect, right? All I need is a little practice…"

"A _lot _of practice," she cut in wryly.

"And I'll be as good as you!"

By the look on the Princess's face I could tell that she seriously doubted it. My mind made up I turned back to the target and pulled back on the arrow. This time it went too far to the left. I _had _to get it right! I _had _to! If I didn't…If I didn't… they would…_kill _me!

"It's hopeless," she said, sounding even gloomier than I thought possible.

"No it's not!" I said. Now that I had something I needed to be good at, I knew I wouldn't stop until I got it right!

**__**

Screetch!!!

I whipped around to where I thought the sound came from. "Wasn't that a little close?" There was a pause of brief silence and then another, **_Screetch!!! _**I gulped, "Umm…"

"Shh!" She silenced me with a wave of her hand and grabbed a nearby bow and quiver of arrows. "Listen." It was an order. I hated being ordered around.

I opened my mouth to say something when there was a cracking sound on the ceiling and then half of it caved in, blowing dust and debris everywhere. I coughed and tried to cover my nose with my hand while waving the debris away from me. Through squinted eyes I could _just _make out the silhouette of a huge demon. When the dust cleared I noted that it was a crow demon, a very _large _crow demon. Worse, it was staring directly at me.

"Oh, no…" I started to say, not believing how my luck had changed so quickly and stooped downward so steeply. "It's just one thing after the other now isn't it? _How _do I manage to get into these kinds of things?"

The Crow demon tilted its head, its red eyes reflecting my image a little too clearly. It hopped in my direction, causing me to take a backwards step. I was _not _going to become bird food right about now! 

It hopped towards me three more times and this time when I backed up I bumped into something hard and flat; the wall. I was trapped with no where to go. Wasn't this just peachy? 

"Get away from me!" I yelled, closing my eyes and wrinkling my nose in disgust at the smell before me. I flattened myself against the wall, turning my head as far away from that monster as possible. "Someone _help me!!!!"_ I screamed as it closed the distance between us. 

"Demon be gone! You're not wanted here!" Came the strong voice of the Princess. She glared in concentration and the arrow she had pulled back was let loose. It sunk deeply into the crow's body, the demon screeching in loud horrendous shrieks of pain. It tossed back its head and another arrow flew free. Finally it collapsed to the ground, twitching three times, and then stopped altogether. It was dead. And it was true, the Princess _was_ an incredible archer.

I stood there shakily. Had what happened really happened? Did the Princess just save me?

Panting, the Princess looked over in my direction. "Good, you're still alive. I guess there is a resemblance between us. Demons only tend to attack me. Though not a single demon has ever penetrated these walls before. Not while I was here. And especially not one of my barriers. Something is up. Either the demons are getting stronger, or-"

"Princess! _Princess!!!_ Are you alright?!?" A little man ran through the doors and quickly scanned the area. When his eyes met the Princess's he went into hysterics. "Oh _Princess, _I'm so glad you're okay! Your parents, their highnesses, are completely worried about you! We all heard the attack, even servants from the opposite side of the palace! Is it safe here Princess? Is everything alright?"

He would have continued to keep babbling if it weren't for the Princesses sudden words, cutting him off. "Everything is fine now. Tell my parents that I am all right and that I will meet them in the study with Kagome in a few moments. Tell them that it is very urgent." When he stood there nodding his head she said, "Well? Go on! They don't know if I'm dead of alive so hurry! They need to know right away!"

"Oh! Right. Of course your grace, uh, I mean, your Highness." Bowing, he left the room and I could only hear the sound of his pitter-patter footsteps and he ran to inform the King and Queen everything that Princess Kikyo had just said.

"You," she turned in my direction. "Pack your things at once."

I stared, wide eyed. "What?!?" Was she kicking me out because I hadn't protected her? She wasn't the one who _needed _protection! Then again, I wouldn't object to leaving.

"We're going on a trip," she stated as she grabbed a different bow and a quiver full of fresh arrows that hadn't been used yet. She walked out of the room, causing me to jog to catch up to her.

"What do you mean, we're going on a trip?!? I thought you said we were safe here! Your barriers don't work any better than my _grandfather's!"_

Kikyo glared over her shoulder. "They work all right, they just weren't strong enough for the need and want of that demon, which has never happened before. But, that means that more demons might be able to get through. We can't put everyone in danger by our being here. We're leaving."

"But-what-I-the _war!"_

"What of it?"

"We can't just go anywhere you know! People are bound to be after you! Well…me, I guess. What about your parents, will they be okay with this? I don't think it's a good idea. Actually, I _know _it's a bad one!"

"Do you have any better ones?" I glared at the back of her head. Our pace quickened. "No. If we stay here it would be like offering ourselves as well as the Shikon Jewel over to them on a silver platter." She came to a halt and I realized that we were outside of her/my bed chambers. "Now pack a bag full of some of your clothes as well as mine. And don't forget a cloak. Hurry. I have to talk to the guards so they will ready our horses. I'll meet you back here in a few moments, and you _better _be ready." 

With that said, she quickly rushed off down the corridor and to who knows where. I grumbled as I entered the elegant room, grabbing a pack and shoving clothes in it. Most of it was commoners where, but I also had to grab the red and white kimono, some garments that weren't too fancy, but might be something a Princess in hiding would where for a long journey, and a long tan cloak with a hood that traveled and inch higher than the ground. 

I walked out into the hallway right as the Princess arrived. She shoved a canteen of water, some food and other important things we would need, and said just one simple word. "Come."

I followed her obviously to the study where we were greeted immediately by her parents and sister. They threw their arms around her and all three started talking at once. Demanding to know what happened, asking if she was hurt, and what she wanted to speak with them about.

"I have come to tell you that we are leaving," Kikyo stated, head held high, her eyes defiant.

"What?" He mother gasped, shocked.

"Is this some sort of jest?" The King demanded.

"No father. We are endangering the people here, as well as you three. It would be best if we left immediately. I will pretend to be serving the Princess, whom will be Kagome, and we will travel far and wide, in search for the Shikon Jewel. We will hide, bringing the demons after us, leading them away from this land. I will be fine, so you need not worry. The Crow demon that just attacked us went after Kagome instead of me, so I know if one demon was tricked into believing she was me, then the others will also. As long as she is by my side, I will be alright."

"But sister," Princess Kaede insisted, her little voice strangled.

Kikyo knelt down to her younger sibling's height. "Forgive me Kaede, but I must go. There is no question about it. It will be for the best… for all of us. I'll be fine."

The Queen was on the verge of tears, looking as if-for once-she really did care.

The King observed what was going on and sighed heavily. "If you insist, daughter."

Princess Kikyo stood. "I do."

"Then prepare the horses, you will leave now."

Kikyo almost smiled. "Thank you, father."

*****Time gap*****

This whole thing was a massacre, that was the perfect word for it; a massacre. We had been riding for hours now, and my whole backside was hot and numb. How could a Princess handle this if I could hardly handle it? 

I think this stupid Princess jinxed us. Ever since she said that stupid comment about luring the demons away and having them follow us, we haven't been able to close one eyelid. Not only have demons been trying to kill us for the entire time, but I was about ready to fall of this stupid saddle and into a dreamless sleep! When I saw the first few rays of sun appear over the horizon I knew why. We had gone all night without stopping to rest, drink, or eat. When I need to stand later on I'll probably collapse to the ground, my legs like jelly and permanently spread apart the width of the horse's withers. With each galloping motion the same words kept running through my head. _Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me?_

We didn't stop to rest until nightfall. When we were hungry or thirsty we had to eat and attempt to drink while switching between a canter and a slow walk so we wouldn't wear out our horses. They were both magnificent creatures, but when you were tired and sore, and haven't gotten off the animal for an entire day, you tended to get frustrated with it very easily. I was not thinking very pleasant thoughts by the time we spotted the Inn on the outskirts of a town called Multaro. The only other times we actually _had _stopped was so the horses could have fresh water, and that was about the only time we could drink also without spilling the contents all over ourselves.

"We'll stop here tonight," Kikyo said as we slowed our horses and tried to ignore the questioning stares from the citizens around this part of the village. I made sure my hood was in place as Kikyo made sure her hair was securely wrapped and didn't make eye contact with anyone. "Pst."

"What now?" I whispered.

"While in public, call me Myumi."

"Alright. What should you call me?"

"Kagome will work. No one will know who you are."

"Thanks," I said wryly.

He handed our reins to the stable boy and sure enough, right as I planted both feet on the ground, I nearly collapsed. The ground spun before me and I had to shake my head and blink a few times to actually see correctly. _I must be dehydrated,_ I thought to myself. It took every ounce of energy and left over muscle to stand up straight, and even then I had to hold my breath. 

"Let's go," Kikyo said in a quiet voice, heading up the three stairs to the Inn doors. 

__

Not stairs, I whined mentally. 

Once inside we headed over to the Inn-keeper. "What'll it be fer ye?" She asked with thick commoner's accent. Even _my _accent wasn't that bad! "Would the lady like one room or two?"

I looked over at Kikyo for her response and she gave me a sharp look. "Oh!" I exclaimed. "Um… we'll take one room, thank you."

By the look in the Princess's eyes I could tell that that wasn't the answer she wanted, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything. And there was no way I'd sleep alone with people and demons alike trying to kill me. She'd have to suffer through it. 

We were given our key and both of us headed directly to our room, not even glancing at the stew, beer, and pie they were selling. We both must have had one thing on our minds. Sleep. 

The room was small, but livable. At least it was only for one night. I wouldn't have minded staying longer to catch up on _my _beauty rest, commoner or not. 

"_One _room? You asked for _one _room? Look how tiny this place is! What were you thinking?!?"

I plopped down onto the nearest bed and sighed blissfully. I knew that she would want an answer so I flipped over onto my back, not bothering to open my eyes though. For all I knew they were glued shut. "First of all, we need to stay together in case we're attacked." I didn't want to mention me wanting her protection so instead I said, "What if some psycho found you and killed you in your sleep? He wouldn't know that I was in another room, _pretending _to be you. Either of us could get killed if we were split up! Second, we need to save our money, even if we have a lot, who knows how long we'll be out here, and third, look on the bright side, at least there are two beds."

I got an earful after that, or at least… I think I did. I couldn't remember because after about three seconds of her yelling I fell asleep.

"Kagome, Kagome!" Someone shook me, hard. "Wake up! You must wake up!"

"Ugh?" I asked sleepily, slowly sitting up and rubbing my eyes to clear my vision.

"They're here."

"Who's here?" I asked, automatically on the full alert. "The demons?"

The Princess shook her head. "No. Village officers. They must have heard that newcomers were here. The war has made everyone really cautious lately, and I have a feeling they will want to investigate us."

"What?!? Why? We're just passing through! Honestly they won't think we are some kind of threat!"

There was a pounding at our door, both of our eyes flicking in that direction. "Would you like to bet on that?"

"No," I squeaked. 

"Open up! By order of the Multaro guards! Surrender if you know what's good for you!"

"We didn't even do anything wrong!" I whispered harshly.

Kikyo stood, heading toward the door to unbolt it. "Remember, _you_ are me, no matter what, but until they figure it out, you are Kagome. Understood?" She placed her hand over the bolt as the banging and yells grew louder. "And if you mess up and tell them the truth, and I get killed just to save yourself, I promise you my parents and the entire Kingdom will search you out and kill you. You chose what you want to have happen." Then she unlocked the door and opened it like a meek servant, not looking a single man in the eye. She scuttled back so they could enter the already crowded room. They breezed past Kikyo, not even giving her a second glance, and ran in my direction, pointion swords and arrows at me.

"Tell us who you are and what your business is here!" One man roared, poking me with the tip of a spear.

"Uh…m-my name is… Lady Kagome, and I have come here to visit my elder sister during this horrible time of war. Please, do not wish my servant or I any harm. We come in peace, I assure you."

They eyed me suspiciously. There were six of them. A little too many if you asked me. "Take your cloak off, miss."

I stared, receiving a sharper, harder poke in the shoulder. Another man growled, "Take off yer cloak!"

Obeying, I threw the hood back and unbuttoned the cloak. I winced when I remembered what I was wearing. The Priestess clothes, none other than the red and white robes of Princess Kikyo herself. I paled visible, the silence too quiet. 

"You lie!" One shouted.

"You are a Priestess! No ordinary priestess, but Princess Kikyo in the flesh! For whatever reason you are here in this kingdom, it cannot be good. Not during a time like this! Tie her up! Don't let her get away! We'll bring her to our King and see what he wants done with her!" 

"You!" Someone said, pointing a finger in Kikyo's direction. "Who are _you?_ Traveling with the Princess and all…"

"She is nothing but my servant," I said in the strongest voice I could muster. I didn't now exactly why I wanted to save her royal behind, probably to owe her back for saving mine, but I felt like it was something I had to do. "Her name is Mayumi. She is of no concern to you. And I assure you I plan no harm. Please, let me go. I would never wish ill of your people."

I thought it was working until someone mumbled, "Save it for the King."

I was tied up, while putting up the best fight I could manage, and then they took Kikyo too. "_You _will serve for _us _now. If you value your life."

The Princess didn't respond.

*****Time Gap*****

I never realized exactly how far the outskirts of town were, until the ride to the palace was so long it causing me to be such a nervous wreck. I was so scared, I couldn't believe I had been found out so soon. At least Kikyo was safe for now, but what will happen to me?

__

It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I wasn't supposed to be caught so soon. Maybe if everyone thinks Princess Kikyo is dead it will be for the best. But still, that doesn't mean I want to die! Not for a stuck up noble Princess! She…she… she doesn't even care about her own people! Not if it would save her _life! I don't ever want to see her again! _The nagging part of the back of my mind said, _You won't… if you're killed._

Things couldn't possibly get any worse.

Guess what, they got worse. Right when I arrived I met the King, and he smirked and sniggered and laughed in my face. He was allies with the Tuzaki Kingdom, and they happened to hate Princess Kikyo. They also happened to have a nicely filthy rat infested dungeon waiting for me until my execution. I kicked and screamed and did everything I could think of to get away. To bad for me they were stronger and had a greater number to keep me at bay I was held under control in no time at all.

"Looks like we'll be shipping you across the sea to the Tuzaki Kingdom," One guard stated right before I felt a sharp pain hit the back of my skull. My world, or should I say the pretend world of Kikyo's, went black.

Sorry it took so long! I really really am! And just so all of you know, Inu-Yasha will be in the next chap! I promise! Pretty please review! I hope you all enjoyed it! 


	3. The Wrong Princess

Mirror Images

Chapter Three: The Wrong Princess

WAIIII!!!!! Twenty reviews–thank you, thank you, thank you! I know you guys want to read the rest of this, so I'll get on with this–big fat kudos to my beta/proofreaders, JadeWing and Sapphire Midnight, I love you guys!

Disclaimer: Nope, no ownership here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My life officially sucked. Really, it did.

It wasn't bad enough that I had to impersonate this haughty, self-important princess with a giant thorn up her rear. Or that she was also wanted by what, three or four kingdoms. Correction: wanted _dead._

But no, now because of her, I was stuck in the cargo compartment of the ship, with no light, no air, bound hand and foot, and kneeling in a pool of my own vomit.

I really hated Kikyo right then. And ships. And sailing.

Not to mention my life. 

The chitters of a rat neared and I barely picked out its dim form coming closer. "Someone else wants to piss on me, just great," I muttered. Anger surged up suddenly, turning my vision red as my heartbeat thundered in my ears. Why me? Why did _I_ have to be the one to take the fall for Kikyo, huh?

A squeal from the rat snapped me out of my fury in time to see a ball of white light slam into it, knocking it into the wall. Whimpering, it scuttled behind one of the crates and apparently down a hole, its cries fading slowly.

What had just happened here?  
Before I could really think over what I'd done, the rolling motion came to an abrupt halt. I'd learned to rock with it to keep my balance, and now with it in absentia, I slammed into one of the crates. My shoulder throbbed painfully, and I bit back tears, leaning against the wooden surface.

"Wakey-wakey, _my lady,_" came a mocking voice. A square of light appeared above me, and I clenched my eyes shut as hard as I could manage. Two thumps shook the ground, and rough hands seized me by the arms. My shoulder flashed with pain and I cried out, blackness rushing up to swallow me further.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tavern air was thick with warmth and the smell of beer, as well as the hazy smoke of pipes. Excited talk floated around, all focused on one thing and one thing only: Princess Kikyo was theirs. 

Unseen by any but the bar matrons, and only then as a potential customer, a figure quietly entered inside. A hood covered his features, the rest of the cloak his clothes, and naught was visible to the eye but for the lower half of his face.

"They said they're gonna bring her through the town," one man said drunkenly. 

"Yeah, the damn witch. We'll show er how we treat uns of er kind." His companion held out a mug for another fill. "'Zat Kikyo, she's no' gonna like it ere."

"You don't say." The hooded stranger sat next to them. "Who's killing what now?"

"Dey caught Prinshess Kikyo from Shirome Kingdom, dey did," the first one slurred, grinning widely. "Dey're bringin' her overseas, and dey said she's gon' be here tonightdrive er through the town, the like." 

"And what are they going to do with her after that?" The stranger's calm voice let no hint of his intentions escape. 

"Well" The second one turned to face him, face red. "She's got shome strange powers, so to keep er from gettin' away, they're gon' execute her tomorrow morn'. Front of everybody, you know, just _whack_ and off goes er head."

"Well." Two gold coins appeared in his hands and were dropped onto the counter. "Another few rounds for my friends, here." 

"Yessir." The matron took the coins and set about filling their mugs.

Inuyasha walked out, waited until he reached the forest, and then put down his hood, muttering, "Stupid son-of-a-bitch drunks." A few more mugs, and they'd be too drunk to spit out a coherent sentence, much less remember the hooded inquisitor. Couldn't Kikyo keep herself out of trouble? Obviously not, since she was about to be beheadedAnd here he was, having to keep himself from starting something in the bar and giving himself away too early "That damn bitch." 

The hanyou shot through the trees with ease, scowling, then came to a halt at the top of the tallest one nearby. He could see the port, as well as the royal galley at the dock: then he picked out movement aboard it.

Two soldiers hauled a dark-haired, haggard-looking figure out of a hatch. It had to be Kikyo, but the blurry view of her he had wasn't pretty. His eyes softened momentarily. "Really got yourself beaten up in this one, didn't you?" he said under his breath. She was unconscious by the way she was being forced along, but then he could see her eyes open slightly. They turned into a frown, and she seemed to snap something that earned her a cuff on the head that sent her to her knees.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. He was going to be helpless as soon as the sun set, and if the execution was at dawn it would make things semi-difficult, although he could sneak in as a human far more easily.

Her eyes closed again, and from the slump of her shoulders she'd returned to a state of unconsciousness. They unceremoniously dumped her in a cart with only hay for a cushion, drawn by a flea-bitten old nag, and someone sounded a horn. People started lining the streets, and the cart started forward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

Splat.

Something foul-smelling sprayed over my face, and I flinched. _What?_

"Witch!"

"Sorceress!"  
"Burn her!"

A rotten tomato from the smell of it struck my cheek and I sat up, then grimaced at the agony in my shoulder. The near-twilight still hurt my eyes, accustomed to darkness, but I kept them open.

I was in some kind of cart, headed down a road to what I presumed was the palace. Crowds were lining the streets, carrying torches, rotten food, or both. Soon the inside of the cart–and I–resembled the inside of a pig-feeding trough and smelled even worse.

I stared at the hate-filled eyes of the people and saw hunger and pain written there, suffering from the war. Why did they blame me–or Kikyo? I had never asked for it, and neither had she.

My head hung low, and a single tear slipped down my face. _Grandpa_How would they feel, knowing I had died here in disgrace?

__

This isn't my fault. I might die, but they can't break me. I won't let them.

The tears still ran down my face, but I lifted my head, looking proudly ahead of me. They wanted Kikyo dead, but it was I they were getting, and I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of getting what they were after. Even after I was dead, I would be laughing at them. I was supposed to guard Kikyo and I'd done my job. 

__

So there.

Something made me look ahead at a hooded figure lurking in the shadows. Dark blue-violet eyes watched me, expressionless, the face unseen in the after-sunset shadows of the moonless eve. No sound came from the figure, nothing thrown, no torch. He just watched.

Then he disappeared behind another clump of jeering people. I looked at them, saddened at what war had driven them to, then looked out at all the people, eyes quietly sympathetic, no longer angry.

Slowly the throwing stopped, the jeering quieting. They all simply watched as the cart clattered over the cobblestones, mad fury fading from their expressions. A wave of silence trailed after me, quiet stilling the air, and as I was carted across the drawbridge and into the castle, the entire city was soundless. The stillness was only broken by the cries of an infant, joined one after another by the other children, the wailing infinitely sad.

The king of Tuzaki was waiting for me. I was thrown at his feet ungracefully, but slowly stood, giving him look for look. They weren't going to execute Kikyo. They were going to murder Kagome. 

He stared at me, then slapped me hard. I shook, starbursts in my eyes, but forced myself to meet his gaze once more. I pitied him, king of a broken country. He couldn't take care of his people.

He slapped me again harder. I fell, then got up, still looking evenly at him. He could not break me. I would only be broken when _I_ gave up.

"Why?" he demanded, enraged. "Why do you look at me like that?!"

"You are one to be pitied," I replied. "You cannot rule your people without destroying them."

He growled. "You are the one who will die! I will live longer than you!"

"Will your memory?" I asked quietly. "Or will it fall short of the one who silenced your entire city without lifting a finger?"

He drew back, paling, then snapped, "Take her away! Into the dungeons!"

I followed obediently. Perhaps I hadn't struck a physical blow, but he would remember my words his entire life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The predawn chill made him scowl and curse the human body he had right then, along with his heritage. Who'd ever heard of a demon falling in love with a human? It _didn't_ happenbut it seemed it had, and here he was, completely screwed over. And _he_ had to rescue Kikyo, not the people of her own kingdom.

Crowds were gathering, but like the strange night before, there was no sound. It was more like an eerie homage, thousands paying their honors to someone who was more worth the throne than their own king than a spectator event. 

He easily passed the guards: they were looking for any demons to rescue her, not a human. Even the priests stationed at the gates to sense for youki wouldn't find him, not as he was right then. Perhaps there were some advantages.

He managed to find a shadowy corner of the City Square where he would pass through his transformation unseen. It was whether it would be in time that was in question.

The sky started lightening, and a drum began its pounding toll. An escort marched the girl down, every eye on her, but she didn't flinch, didn't break down, didn't give a hint of weakness. Even though he despised the betrothal they'd been forced into, Inuyasha was forced to admire Kikyo's ability not to blink, not to show a hint of weakness, despite the assumed fact that she was about to die. 

The swollen sun reached tentative fingers over the horizon, and she was led to the block. A man in black grimly fingered the dull axe as the transformation started to roll over him. _Come on, go faster,_ he willed it, watching his fingers flex and gain the longer claws. A strand of his hair faded to gray, then white, and the burning sun completely cleared the horizon. Kikyo was forced to kneel before the block, not a sound running through the crowds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I kept my head high with difficulty, tempted to kick and scream–but that was what the king wanted, to see me break down, and I'd be damned if I was going to give it to him. I got to my knees, trying to hide my shaking, and closed my eyes. _Goodbye, Souta. Goodbye, Grandpa. I'm sorryKikyo, you'd better live a good life after this, or I'll come back and haunt you._ _I'm not dying so you can keep on moping around._

A cry of surprise jerked me out of my reverie, and my eyes flew open only to find a hooded figure suspended in the air. It landed next to me with a thump, something slicing through my bonds, and then a strong arm seized me around the waist.

"Come on, Kikyo," a voice growled. 

"Wait a second–" I started, automatically starting to correct my savior.

"Do you want to be rescued or not?" Without waiting for a reply, he–from the voice, it was definitely a he–leapt into the air once more, landed on a rooftop, and took off again. A single cheer broke through the air, then was joined by thousands of others, but they faded swiftly. "Wait–you don't understand–I–"

"Will you shut up already?!" His hood flew back, and I held in a gasp. Gold-amber eyes momentarily flicked down at me, irate, then returned to a point in the distance. Long white hair streamed behind him, thick and rather fluffy-looking.

But the biggest things were his ears. The two, triangular dog-ears. 

This struck a chord in my memory, but it took a minute for me to think of where it was from.

__

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. NO! NO!

Kikyo had mentioned this boy once or twice, mostly with what sounded like disgust with a trace of affection, but I'd heard his name before

If he was who I thought he was, things were going to get very–wellinteresting.

We landed in a dark alley, him looking suspiciously around. "Hey–listen–" I started, but was cut off by a hand clamping over my mouth.

"Shut your mouth, bitch!" he hissed. "Maybe the people like you well enough in this city, but it's the king who's got all the soldiers, and there's bound to be a shitload coming after us any time soon!" He shot straight into the air, but his hand didn't move from my mouth. "Keep your mouth shut until I say so!"

I glowered at him, but he didn't notice. No wonder Kikyo was so unhappy: if I had this half-demon jackass for my betrothed, I wouldn't be Little Miss Sunshine either. We had reached the treetops by the time he was distracted enough to let me force his hand away from my mouth. "Listen to me! I'm not Kikyo!"

At first, it was the fact that I was falling that drew my attention. Then it was the ear-shattering bellow of **_"WHAT?!"_** that caught my ear, but that was soon replaced by the knowledge that I was going to hit the ground. Hard. Soon. This was not good.

I stiffened, terrified, and white lights played behind my eyelids. I opened them to find a white sphere around me, slowing the fall, although it didn't keep the leaves and twigs from catching my arms. I was dropped relatively less severely on my rear, and a moment later Kikyo's "boyfriend" showed up.

I glared at him. Inuyasha's reputation preceded him as the rebellious younger prince of the demon kingdom, the one who stirred up trouble wherever he went, the one who no one really liked but Kikyo was betrothed to as part of the treaty between Shirome and Tetsui. 

He was no match for a scratched-up, pissed-off, I-nearly-died-twice-the-first-time-from-being-killed-instead-of-a-spoiled-princess-and-the-second-cause-YOU-just-dropped-me me. 

"What do you _mean,_ you're not Kikyo?" he growled lowly, looking ready to explode. 

"I'm a double," I retorted. "A fake. A dummy. It was either agree to impersonate Kikyo or get my head hacked off, my pick."

"You're lying!" he yelled. "You just lit up like a burning squirrel and you expect me to believe you're _not_ Kikyo?!"

"My name is Kagome!" I yelled back. "Ka-go-me! And it just happens to be my own crappy luck that I look like an arrogant, self-important princess and happen to have some weird power! _And_ it's not my fault _you_ rescued the wrong princess, so quit acting like it is, you pompous jackass!"

If the naughty language that Kikyo would have fainted at hearing, much less ever saying, didn't convince him, I guess it was when he leaned forward, frowning, and sniffed, then muttered to himself, "You smell worse than she does. Maybe you're telling the truth." that did it.

"You don't say," I grumbled. 

"Listen, you," he said suddenly, grabbing my arm and dragging me to my feet. "You'd better spit out where Kikyo is or I don't care _who_ or _what_ you are, I'll rip you in half!"

"You–you _jerk!"_ And then I decided to obey him, in a fashion–and spat in his face.

Inuyasha yelled out something that would have scarred a young child for life and let go, hurriedly scrubbing his face with his wide red sleeve. "That was _disgusting,_ you _bitch!"_ he yelled, looking like he was going to be sick.

"Aw, is widdle Inuyashee afwaid of cooties?" I asked sweetly.

"That was so gross!" 

"If you want an answer, you're going to have to ask nicely." My grin was wide and gloating.

"You wanna put money on that?" He advanced, cracking his knuckles and looking ready to kill, and fear numbed my bones. I was seized by the arm again, but this time it hurt.

"Let go!" I yelped, squirming.

"Answer me," he returned. "Where is Kikyo?"

"Let–me–GO!" My eyes were squeezed shut, but from the flash I saw through them and a sharp oath–as well as the absence of the pressure on my wrist–I gathered I'd done something again.

When I opened my eyes, Inuyasha was halfway across the clearing, nursing a burnt hand and scowling blackly at me. "You're not big on please' and thank-you', are you?" I said dryly.

He, unsurprisingly, replied with another scorching suggestion.

"You'd better get this straight, or else I'll roast you like a plucked chicken," I lied, having no clue how to use the strange powers. "My name is Kagome Higurashi, and I _never_ asked to be screwed over like this. Kikyo decided to draw the demons away from the palace, and so I had to impersonate her while she pretended to be my servant. We were taken in Multaro, and they split us up and shipped me over here for execution. I don't have a damned clue about where she is or if she's even alive right now, but it's my job to help her and to hell with you if you're going to get in my way."

"Can you fight?" he asked bluntly.

I wasn't expecting that. "What?"

"Can you fight?" he repeated, giving me the you're a half-wit' look. "Use a bow? Sword? Anything?"

"Wellno."

"Then what good are you?" Inuyasha snorted, shaking out his hand. The burns were rapidly healing, but still looked rather nasty.

My anger rose, and the air started lightening around me. A strand of black hair wavered, then started floating.

"Okay, okay, I take it back!" It looked like it hurt his teeth to say it. "So maybe you can do some fireworks, but you aren't worth much otherwise, and what are you going to do, make puppy-eyes at the guards and hope your little trick works like it did?"

"As opposed to blowing the castle up and hoping Kikyo gets out alive?"

"You're a commoner," he said scornfully. "You don't know anything."

I could feel my nails digging into my palms, vision turning white around the edges for a moment until I got my anger under control. "I'm a commoner," I said, my voice quiet with controlled rage. "Which means I _know_ how to fit in. I _know_ how to get into a palace without attracting the attention of the entire military, which, considering the absolutely _stellar_ job you just did back there I presume you don't."

"I get it," he said suddenly, a false look of enlightenment on his face. "You're going to walk in, find Kikyo, and walk out, is that it?"

"I've got news for you," I snapped. "Maybe back in Tetsui everything got handed to you on a silver platter. Maybe no one dared look at you cross-eyed, because you could rip them in half and get away with it. Maybe you were raised with the notion that anyone who doesn't live in a castle is the village idiot." My look turned hard and steely. "But guess what? We're not _in_ Tetsui. Welcome to the real world, _Prince_ Inuyasha. It's a lot harder out here."

"I don't need you," he said after a second, scowling furiously. 

"Then you're hanging around here because?" I crossed my arms. "You know where Kikyo is. Why don't you try walking up to the King of Multaro and asking nicely? I'm sure he'll hand her right over."

"Screw you. I don't need your help."

"Oh, gee, where have I heard that before?" I turned around. "We'll see how well _your_ plan works, won't we?"

"Fine!" The sense of his presence faded as a red dot soared overhead, and I let out a long sigh. Where exactly was I? If Grandfather's lessons had been correct, then since we'd headed west I'd be in the Forest of Arrows, named for the tribe that had once lived in here. The fastest way to get to Multaro was across the Little Sea, which would need a boat, but heading back to the port wasn't the most appealing of ideas at the moment. I personally had no desire to be captured again

A scream tore the air ahead of me, and I paused, blood running cold, then shoved my way through the foliage. Another cry broke through, then I stumbled into a clearing, only to find the bloody remains of what looked like a man.

Fire raced up and down my spine, and I whirled. Behind me was a giant spider with seven heads, though none had mouths. Then a gaping chasm opened where they all joined and a terrible reek came from it as it bared glittering fangs. Hairy legs seized the man's body and stuffed it into its mouth, horrible crunching sounds coming from within. Swallowing back vomit, I spotted the bow and arrows on the ground–the man had to have been a hunter–and seized them, trying to remember everything Kikyo had said when she'd been trying to help me learn to use them. _Keep it steadyPull back as far as you can get itcome on, Kagome, do something **right** for once!_

I loosed, and it shot straight at the spiderthen fell.

__

DAMMIT! I mentally yelled. _DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT!_

"Let's try this again," I hissed through gritted teeth. This time, I pulled it back to my ear, then fired. It actually hit the largest head's eye–

And then an explosion knocked me flat. It didn't hurt me or anything, but a blast of wind had rushed from where the spider was and where there was now a scorch mark. A very large one, granted, but still a scorch mark.

"Well," I muttered numbly, "maybe now I can get Souta to listen to me"

I found myself wondering what Inuyasha would do if he'd seen that, and then the sense prickled at the very edge of my conscious–but there was something wrong, very wrongFrowning, I closed my eyes and concentrated on it, trying to reach for something beyond my grasp–

__

I was rushing over hill and valley, then in a burst of blue over the Little Sea. A grayish blurb became a castle; a red blotch became Inuyasha, but something wasn't right

He was holding his left arm, and an arrow protruded from his shoulder. When he moved his hand I could see blood dripping from them: he was shaking. There was something about that arrow

"Blades of Blood!" Razor-like red light shattered on a dark shield around a tower, and I could see a woman inside, also with a bow and arrows, dressed in black. She smirked. 

"You'll have to do better than that, halfling," she taunted. "Much better." Another arrow flew through the shield and struck his knee this time, a burst of black-purple power blooming when it hit.

****

A Dark Priestess, I realized with a sinking heart. **Trust Multaro to hire a Dark Priestess.** They were immune to demon magic, yet wielded it themselves like it was their own for anyone who lined their pockets with enough gold. This one was good, tooInuyasha didn't have a chance.

An arrow struck him in the forearm this time, and he bit back a cry of pain. I watched with horror–maybe he was a complete asshole, but he'd at least come to rescue me, and I didn't want to see him die.

Black power streaked out, and an arrow struck him in the middle of his chest. He cried out at the same time I did.

"INUYASHA!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pain racked his entire body: three arrows in him was three arrows too many. 

He should have known Multaro would do something like hire a Dark Priestess. By capturing and executing Kikyo, it was a direct insult to Tetsui, and they'd need demon-proof protection in case something happened before they could act. And here he was, fighting a losing battle. He was doomed, and Kikyo was stuck.

So maybe that bitch in the forest had been rightMaybe she'd actually get Kikyo back. They were nothing alike, despite the physical resemblanceshe had a–a _fire_ in her, one that Kikyo either lacked or never showed

Here he was dying, and he was thinking about the first girl ever to call him a pompous jackass. Well, at least to his face.

It wasn't the first time that it crossed his mind that he truly was really, really messed up.

Something thudded into his chest, and iron claws of pain locked into him. He couldn't bite back a cry anymore, but something else was there

Sound rippled across the sky, flickering in and out like a faulty speaking spell. "I–InuYash–Yasha-a.."

Was that Kagome's voice?

Fingers of blue-white slowly blossomed into a star-like shape and a burning figure stepped out, blazing the same blue-white and standing on thin air. An arc of light became a bow, a dart an arrow, and it drew it, then fired straight at the Dark Priestess.

The shield shattered as his vision clouded black, then cleared in time to see the Dark Priestess appear in front of him.

Something was ringed around his neck, something infinitely heavy, and then a shaft of light speared the woman. "Child–!" she hissed, then disintegrated, and the last thing he saw was the white figure running towards him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had barely seized the front of his haori when he slumped over, and then the blazing white flickered. I was rushing back across the land again, only this time holding onto the unconscious Inuyasha for dear life, and then with a _snap_ I was–back. His weight rested entirely on me, and I fell instantly, then rolled him over, wincing as the arrows snapped. Whatever I'd done back there, I had to do it again, or somehow I knew he would die. Clenching my fist, I tensed my entire body, squeezed my eyes shut, and thought really hard, _I wish the arrows would disappear. I wish the arrows would disappear._

No glowing. No creating a bow out of light and air. No lighting up like a burning squirrel.'

"Well, great," I sighed. "I'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way." Leaning over, I brushed the arrow in his chest–and it disappeared. "Or we could do it that way." I frowned, wondering if I could find a way to call up the power when I needed it, not whenever I got pissed off. This time, I brought my hand close to the arrow in his forearm. A feeling like cool threads weaving down my veins and tightening started building, then shifted to the warmth of fire when I grasped the shaft. It had felt like something in my heart had pulsed and then sent a flash of power, but it was getting harder. I tried to create that same feeling, and after a moment my hand started glowing again, but then faded, the light I felt flickering. 

Something then pulsed–not my heart, but something warm and strong within me, and I was filled with new strength. I dissolved the last remaining arrows, then sat back, rubbing my forehead. First he was offering to show me how it felt to be ripped in half, and then I was saving his life.

Yep. I hated my life. 

He shuddered, and his eyes half-opened. Eerily, dark power was bleeding into the gold , and they shifted blearily over to me. "Witch!" he gasped, struggling to get up. 

"What?!" I scrambled back rapidly as he stood, faltering. 

"Bitch!" Inuyasha stared at me, and the black grew more intense. 

Then I had to throw myself to the side as a new hole appeared right where I was, Inuyasha's claws still in the earth.

__

It's some kind of spell, she did something right before I killed her–

That's all fine and dandy, but how the HELL do I get it off of him?! 

He was making another pass–I wasn't fast enough to avoid this one, and my weird powers weren't really up to snuff–

I yelled out the first thing that came to mind, eyes squeezed shut again. _"SIT!"_

Thumpf. 

"SHIT!"

I opened my eyes only to find Inuyasha completely face-planted in the ground. He looked up, spat out a mouthful of grass and dirt, and yelled, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?!Kagome?!" He blinked, and I realized the black was gone. "I thoughtbut that's not the point! What the hell is this thing?" He tried to lift the necklace, straining, but nothing happened.

"I don't know!" I glared at him. "And the next time I save your ass, I'd _really_ appreciate it if you didn't try to use me as a scratching post!"

He got back to his feet again, wincing a bit, and snapped, "I _didn't_ do anything. I was trying to kill that Dark Priestess."

"Yeah, hate to break it to you, champ, but that was me." Rubbing my face, I leaned against the tree and muttered, "I think I need to sit down."

__

Whumpf.

"GODDAMMITBITCHWHATTHEHELLISTHISSHITDOYOUTHINKIT'SGODDAMNFUNNY–" The cursing continued on for quite a while this time. I regarded the whole thing with raised eyebrows and a thoughtful expression.

Now rather grubby, Inuyasha got to his feet once more. "Sit," I said placidly, and watched bemusedly as he slammed into the ground. "Oh, would you look at that." He was yelling something, but I couldn't quite hear it because his face was still pressed into the ground. That probably was a good thing.

After quite a few obscenities, Inuyasha finally managed to sit up, giving me a look that would strip the paint off a house. "You can stop that now."

"I'll keep it in mind." I slid down the trunk as to be on eye-level and asked, "What are we gonna do about Kikyo?"

"Hell if I know." He snorted.

I stared at the ground. The animosity had died down, but we weren't going to get very far if we didn't work together. 

I absentmindedly picked at a thread on my sleeve, wishing I still had the warm robes I'd worn when I was posing as Kikyo. My clothing at the moment was prison garb, a rough sackcloth tunic over an undyed cotton shirt and loose leggings. They'd let me keep my boots. It wasn't exactly the fashion of royalty; in fact, if it was ripped and dirtier, it'd look like a slave's garments

An idea formed in my mind–I didn't really like it, but it would work "I think I know what to do," I said slowly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A slave." The king of Multaro glanced down at me, lip curled in mild disgust from where I prostrated myself before him, trying not to give us away by letting my mouth open, because then some acidic reply would fly out, I just knew it. My face was smudged with dirt and my clothes torn and ragged beyond recognition. No one would recognize me as the "princess" they'd sent to execution.

"As a token of goodwill," Inuyasha said, sounding careless. "With Kikyo dead, the marriage contract is dissolved, and now Tetsui can declare war on Shirome. We've wanted to do it for some time now–the demons came from our kingdom, actually, and that's what drove out the bitch in the first place. This one's been in ourservice for a long time, and she knows how to work and how to keep quiet. We'd send more, but with war preparations we can't spare any more."

"Hm. Yes, well, we highly appreciate this gift. The official ambassadors will be arriving tomorrow, you say?"

"Yes," he said smoothly. "They were delayed when the carriage broke down, being human, but they sent me ahead with the slave to ensure our intentions are clear."

"I see." He stroked his beard. "We thank you, Prince Inuyasha. I am sure you are concerned for your companions, so we will attend to this young woman." He snapped his fingers, and an attendant came rushing to his side. "Take this slave and instruct her in her duties."

She nodded and jerked her head, and I scrambled to my feet. The voices in the reception faded, replaced by footsteps as we trailed down the hall. "You will serve any noble who requests it," she said woodenly. "You must do what they tell you immediately and without question, no matter what the want you to do." She paused, then added, "Some of the noblemen will make _certain_ requests. It would do you the most good to serve' one in particular–if he takes you as a concubine, you will be his property only and none other mayask you to serve' them–without his permission, that is." She glanced back at me. "You have impeccable timing, girl. The nighttime is when most of us can rest." We came to a door and she opened it. "These are the slave quarters. Find an empty pallet and write your name on the wall over it. Once you enter the pallet chamber, you will not leave until the headmaster excuses you. You start service at dawn tomorrow, and you may only leave the castle either in attendance of a noble or with written permission and the brand of the signet ring." She held the door open and I hesitantly walked in.

The open hall stretched on and on, barred chambers on either side, some with shapes in the sparse pallets within, some with women standing or sitting in them. Eyes followed my progress down the hall, and I entered the first empty cell I found, then lit the candle inside. The walls were stone, the pallet the only other flammable thing within. 

"That way, you can't burn down the quarters and save us all," a dead voice said from across the hall. A woman stared at me with dull eyes, her face thin and her clothes ragged. "Death is better than this hell." She showed me a burn on her arm. "You can try to commit suicide, but they spell the pallets to burn only for enough time to teach us a lesson' and let us live."

I swallowed and slid down the wall. I'd known the slave system of Multaro's castle, and the plan was fairly simple, but I'd need to make sure Kikyo was in here first. I didn't know how to sense her, but I remembered vaguely how it had felt right before I'd transported my mind and powers to here in order to help Inuyasha. I called up the feeling again, then felt the same sense of detachment and opened my eyes.

I was floating over my body. Looking at my hand, I found it was glowing white-blue. "Very nice," I murmured. Passing through the bars with ease, I drifted down the hall, looking in each for Kikyo. Each held a sorry creature that had once been a woman, but none of them looked at me.

Then I entered a cell as the figure on the pallet sat up. The young woman turned, and her eyes landed on me. "Kagome?!"

"Hi there," I said cheerily. "Guess we're similar in more ways than one, huh?"

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly. "I thought you were dead."

"Well, let's see, I've nearly died" I did a quick tally on my fingers. "Three times now. I nearly did get my head taken off, but your oh-so-charming boyfriend showed up."

Her eyebrows nearly shot off her forehead. "Inuyasha?!"

"In the half-demon flesh," I said dryly.

"Listen" She hesitated, then said, "I'm sorry. This really isn't right, and Iwas trying to tell myself that it was destiny, that it was meant to be and that it wasn't wrong to take you away like we did. When I realized that you were going to die instead of me, it hit me that it wasn't right at all, and"

"I understand." I was just glad that she'd lost her high-and-mighty airs. "Hey, the first thing that crossed my mind when I met Inuyasha was that if I had _him_ for a betrothed I wouldn't be all sunshine-and-daisies either."

She laughed softly. "What happened after he saved you?"

"We were over the Forest of Arrows when he let me talk long enough to tell him that I _wasn't_ you. And then he dropped me." I sighed. "I started glowing and didn't fall quite as hard, and then wehad a discussion."

She let out a very un-Princess Kikyo-like snort. "I'll bet."

"Oh, I burned his hand and spat in his face," I said lightly. "He deserved them both, though. And then when I pointed out that going to get you in broad daylight with no plan other than blow the castle up' just might not work, he decided to go prove it and Idon't know what happened. I guess I just knew he was in trouble–he was fighting the Dark Priestess–and my mind rushed over here, killed her, and got us both out." I shrugged. "He had a couple arrows in him and she put this necklace on him that makes him fall down whenever I say Sit', and he can't take it off. He's not so bad, I guess, you just have to get used to him." She mutely nodded as I went on. "We decided I'd pose as a slave and he'd B.S. up a bunch of stuff about you being dead and so the treaty gone and that Multaro and Tetsui could join in war against Shirome, and I'd just be a goodwill gesture. The rest of the ambassadors were mysteriously delayed.' Tomorrow, he's going to demand both of our presences and then give us permission to leave, and then we're home free from there. The king thinks Tetsui's his ally right now, he won't be expecting anything like this."

Kikyo smiled slightly. "You've got this all planned outI'm very impressed."

"Hey, it's not so bad." I grinned. "I mean, look at the health benefits." I felt the spell flicker. "I've got to go, I'm running down a bit and we've got a big day ahead of us."

"Go." She made shooing motions, a real smile on her face. As I left, I missed the look in her eyes as she settled back down and stared at the ceiling, but it had changed from the haughty princess to someonedifferent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Get up, girl." 

I squinted grumpily at the hazy figure, then remembered what was going on and hurriedly stood up. "Yes, headmaster?"

"Prince Inuyasha requests you," he said blandly. "Number 384 too. She will take you to his chambers."

"Yes, headmaster." I saw Kikyo standing next to him.

He passed a hand over the door and I stepped out. Kikyo and I walked down the hall, not talking. Any sign of familiarity would blow our plan. We reached Inuyasha's chambers soon enough and were admitted with no problem.

He glanced up when we entered, and the look in his eyes when he saw Kikyo made me feel odd. 

__

Well, they **are** betrothed, I reminded myself. _They've known each other for a while. I don't know why I'd be surprised._ Nevertheless, I still felt decidedly strange, like there was a knot in my stomach.

"I need something picked up at the marketplace," he said coolly. "I trust you, 402, but it will require two. You will meet my man at the Running Hare Inn." He handed me a slip of paper. We bowed and left.

Kikyo silently led us through the halls, and we passed the guards with relative ease after showing them the note. We'd just passed the outer gate when a figure in red flew over us: Inuyasha. 

The look on Kikyo's face right then was one I'd only caught a glimpse of in his chambers, though after a moment she shook her head and we continued.

The "hooded stranger" who met us at the inn nodded briefly, then started walking. We followed him through the streets and then finally came to the gates of the city walls. This was it: all we had to do was pass through here and we were home free. I cleared them, looking like an attendant of the hooded noble, and Kikyo was following us.

Then an enormous wailing arose. She froze as we stared back at her. "I can'tmove," she whispered.

It hit me: that was why none of the slaves had escaped. They had some kind of time-lapse spell, and she was bound by it.

A whistle sounded, and guards started running towards us. She paled, then narrowed her eyes and reached inside her robes. Three small cylinders lay in the palm of her hand, glowing faintly, each encircled with a red seal that had the marks of repeated attempts of breaking it but each unsuccessful. "Keep the scrolls safe," she whispered. "They're only after me and they will search me for stolen goods, and if they find these"

The guards were getting closer. She pressed the scrolls into my hands and shouted, "Run!"

"But–"

__

"RUN!" The look in her eyes begged for me not to argue.

I was seized around the waist and then the ground fell away: Inuyasha had me. "Inuyasha, we can't just leave her!" I protested. "How am _I_ supposed to guard the scrolls? I can't even manage getting–"

"Shut up," he said tersely. "Just shut up."  
I glanced up at him, startled, and saw the pain in his eyes. It hit me that it was probably the hardest thing for him to do, leaving Kikyo behind.

And all this over three little scrolls

I opened my hands to see what was so special about them–and nearly dropped them.

The red seal was broken. They had opened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Being that it's 7:54 and the bus comes at 8, I'd better get outta here.


	4. Author Note

Ummm... hi. ^-^ This is Sapphire Midnight, a.k.a. Geldyn Eyes, or.half of Geldyn Eyes I should say. Yeah. Well, I wanted to know how you really feel about the last chapter, chapter three. I guess some of you were disappointed about the last chapter. Well, JadeWing wrote it, and *I* thought it was good, I just, guess that I was disappointed with the reviews we received. If you guys want, I can re-type that chapter in my *own* words, or I can just write a summery before I write the fourth chapter. You chose. ^-^ I hope you guys will help me. Well, review quickly so I know what to do. ^__________^ See ya! 


	5. Child of Mystery

Mirror Images

Chapter Four: Child of Mystery

**__**

As you all know by now, this story is in reality being written by JadeWing (that's me) and Sapphire Midnight. Well, I was slated to write this chapter, and since no one has violently protested continuing, I thought you know, what the heck, let's keep this sucker moving! I know this chapter is more than a tad rushed, but you'll have to forgive me, I'm writing this in the middle of finals week. Not my best work, but I've got an FST final to think about, what can I say? Now--Onward, upward, and AWAY!

Disclaimer: Tell me you don't honestly think I own this. Please. Don't scare me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stared, utterly bewildered, at the three now-opened canisters. Now anyone who wanted to find the Shikon Jewel could kill me and take them. We'd have to go and claim it before anyone else.

"Why does this _always_ happen to me?" I muttered sullenly. "Inuyasha, _look."_

He glanced down at my open palms and—I chalk it up to sheer surprise now, but I really can't be sure—promptly dropped me. Again.

_"You moron!"_ I yelled, desperately yanking on the peculiar feeling of my magic and throwing it beneath me. It condensed into a translucent cushion the size of a decent tabletop and caught me tidily, raising me back up as I continued my litany. "What part of Inuyasha, look,' translated into drop me now'?!" Back on eye-level once more, I made good use of that by sending him a smoldering glower. "After that scene back there, you'd think the last thing you want to do is throw away the only person who not only has magic but is willing to put _up_ with you and your obsession with dropping things! Namely _me."_

"The seals—are _open?"_ he asked slowly.

"No, they're still whole in a broken way," I retorted. "Here, see for yourself."

Upon tossing one to him, he inspected it with a golden eye and announced ceremoniously, "You're on crack. This thing isn't broken."

_"What?!"_ I snatched it back and shoved the cracked seal in his face. _"You're_ on crack! Look!"

He took the scroll again, and this time we both had a clear view of the seal molding itself together once more the second it passed into his hands. "What the—"

I seized it. "Maybe it just likes me better."

"Must be easy to please," he snapped. "Open it, then, if you're the chosen one'."

Sending another paint-stripping look his way, I removed each scroll from the canisters and spread them out in front of me. 

It was a map. There was Shirome, clearly labeled, along with Tetsui and Multaro and the other countries, centered around one I'd never seen laid out so firmly. White-edged blue letters named it as Aohoshi.

It was the lost kingdom, the forgotten nation, the paradise everyone was fighting for. It was the kingdom of mystery, the land of the unknown.

And in the very center, there was a dot with two names by it. One was "Fushiginoko Tower."

The other was "Shikon Jewel."

"What the—What're you looking at, Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded. "You gone crazy or something? There's nothing on these scrolls!"

He then moved into a long rant, striding back and forth mid-air, about how the _hell_ they were supposed to find the Shikon Jewel if the scrolls didn't tell them diddly-_squat_ and what kind of joke was this? It was all the humans' fault, they were too stupid to even make a—

"It's a map," I said pointedly.

He halted, turned, and looked at me, eyes contemplative. After a moment, he said, "You've lost it, haven't you? Hearing voices? Seeing the magical troll yet?"

"I think I'm the only one who can read it." I studied the surface harder. "After all, if it opens only for me, why shouldn't it show its contents only for me?"

"Because it's stupid and it should _die,"_ he said reasonably. "What's on there?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Tetsui. Shirome. The kingdom everyone's fighting over. The location of the Shikon Jewel."

He frowned, then pulled a map out of his pack. "Can you point out where the Jewel is on here?"

I looked down at the map I had, then at his, but nothing made sense. It was as if I had forgotten it completely. "I can't. There's a spell on it that won't let me remember."

He sat down as I reflected on what a unique sight the two of us were: a girl on her floating cushion of power and a boy sitting on air. I wasn't going to be normal anytime soon.

"What do we do now?" I asked quietly. "We know where the Shikon Jewel is, Kikyo is stuck as a slave, and international relations between Tetsui and Multaro aren't quite phenomenal anymore."

"We have to get Kikyo out," said Inuyasha. His eyes were hard and pained. 

"Yeah, thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't noticed."

"Can you break the spell?" he asked suddenly.

"Me?" I blinked at him, bewildered. "If _Kikyo_ can't get out, what chance would _I_ have?"

He looked tiredly at the power-cushion, seeming older than before. "Thenshe's as good as dead."

Silence filled the air once more, every second adding to the chill of my entire body, as if I'd been filled with frozen lead. Finally, just to speak and break that deadly quiet, I asked timidly, "What is this stupid Jewel supposed to do, anyway?"

He paused, startled out of morose thoughts, and said slowly, "No one knows for sure. The last of the High Priestess-Mages was the one who made it, and in Tetsui she left an engraving on a stone that's in the castle. It's in an alphabet no one recognizes and the translation was lost hundreds of years ago. Whatever it was, it was big stuff. And it wasn't supposed to fall into the wrong hands, which is why it was hidden. Some of the Elder Youkai say that it was made to increase the powers of either dark or light, but for the most part they're nuttier than fruitcakes, so who knows."

"Huh." I hovered there a minute, thinking, and then it hit me. 

Seizing his arm, I said excitedly, "That's it! We get the Jewel, find out whatever the heck it does, and use it to get Kikyo out, stop the war, and all that good stuff!"

He looked down at me, his gaze first surprised, then doubtful, then pensive. For a long moment, quiet reigned, and then he said speculatively and with the air of one faced with the proposition for the first time that the world might be round, "That_might_ work."

"It will!" I insisted. "If it wasn't so spiffy, why would there be wars and legends over it? It'll do something, and we'll find a way to use it!" When he hesitated, I looked at the map and their bearings, then pointed to the southeast. "Look. Fushiginoko Tower, where the Shikon Jewel is, is that way. Are we going to go or not?" Inuyasha looked to where I pointed, then back at what was to him an empty sheet of parchment, uncertainty clearly written in his face. "Inuyasha—do you want to get her back or not? It's really our only chance."

He grabbed my arm and swung me onto his back. "Southeast, right?" Without waiting for reply, he set off, going faster than expected.

~

We picked up supplies in the first reasonable-sized town we ran into, as well as exchanged my prison garb for sturdier traveling clothes and weapons—a dirk for him and a pair of daggers for me. Until my archery improved to the point where I was able to _intentionally_ hit something, he had dryly informed me, I would have to stick to those. When _I_ had pointed out that I knew about as much about using daggers—or weapons of any kind, for that matter—he'd sighed and said he would teach me when we stopped for the night.

Surveying the ground from my perch on his back, I reflected with all the excitement of one waiting to have their tooth pulled that I couldn't _wait_ until the lesson. He was undoubtedly going to be an even better teacher than Kikyo

"Try to hit that," he said suddenly, pointing to what looked like a bird flying a good distance behind us.

"What?! Why? It hasn't done anything to us _and_ I couldn't hit if I tried for three years!"

"If you tried for three years, I'm pretty sure it would have flown pretty far away by then. And you need all the practice you can get, or else you'll start shooting yourself. _And_ I'm hungry."

I scowled and gave a sharp tug on one of his ears. He jumped, and I could almost feel the darkling look being sent my way.

~

There was a clash, and sparks briefly threw our faces into relief. I struck out with my left dagger, and Inuyasha slid away with a metallic grate. The fire was little more than sullen embers, and the lower light made him hard to see. This, of course, was not a problem for him, as his eyes worked as well (if not better) at night. 

"You never explained why none of the other countries have tried to invade Aohoshi before now," I panted, waiting for his next move. After four nights of practice, I was finally starting to get the hang of the daggers, but he still won. Every time.

This obviously was doing wonders to his ego, also, because he never let me forget it.

"There was a barrier around the damn place," he said as calmly as if he was in the middle of morning tea. "No one could get in. And then it just vanished." A rustle told me he was rushing me.

I ducked and slashed out with one, slicing up with the other. Neither struck, instead glancing off that impossibly fast blade. He chuckled smugly and returned for another pass.

I knew his style somewhat; he was very good at close-range combat, but useless at long range. My aim wasn't what it should have been, but perhaps I could catch him on this

Rolling out of the way, I sprang to my feet and hurled a dagger at him instead of waiting for him to come to me. Surprised, he dodged—it caught a few white hairs and the drifted slowly down—and we both followed its flight as it spun like a wind demon and lodged itself in the throat of a shabbily-armored, dirty man. He was pinned to the tree behind him.

The temporary silence was reminiscent of the calm before a storm. Then bandits surged out from the undergrowth, all armed and watching us with sloppy, leering grins.

My heart pounded frantically. Even when I had nearly been executed, I had not been as afraid as I was now. A public execution was hardly a pleasant death, but it was swift and clean. Bandits—they would beat me, do things no girl ever wanted, and perhaps I would live to escape if I was lucky. Perhaps not so lucky, though, doomed to live a life of a dishonorable woman. Any death by their hands would not be quick and clean. Inuyasha had nothing to fear—he was a hanyou and they would have no interest in him. Me, thoughIf I was carried off

My vision started fading, but I tried to keep to my feet as we moved automatically to be back-to-back. I swallowed, fighting the nausea and the horror and knowing I wasn't going to win—

And something broke free inside of me. 

It was as if someone far older and more experienced took over. My vision was lined in silver and white, every shape as bright to my eyes as if it were daylight. A hand reached back and called the dagger free of its bloody lodging, and the hilt thudded neatly into my hand. Whirling, I cut down two of the men and kicked at a third. He had a longer dagger than mine in hand—I disarmed him with a twist of power, sending the dagger into another tree. More men started gathering around me, and I ran forward to the tree I'd flung the dagger into. With it at my back, I could focus on the front.

Making a circle with my two fingers, I drew a white ring in the air and it grew, then slammed into the men, throwing them back. Crashing on my right alerted me to someone trying to catch me from behind the tree. I leapt up, twisting in midair so I faced the tree, grasped the hilt of the dagger, tucked my legs so my feet rested against the trunk, and simultaneously pulled the knife free and pushed off. I landed behind my newest foe with a bone-jarring thud but managed to bury his own ally's knife in his back anyway. 

Each arm was seized by a man in an iron grip. I threw myself forward, rolling to lessen the impact, and winced as they fell on their heads with a snap. From their lack of movement, they were either unconscious or dead. Another man tried to land a blow on my face, and I blocked it, ramming a fist into his lower abdomen, then cracking him on the head with the hilt of one of my daggers. 

"Kagome! Hold on—I'm" Inuyasha stopped at the sight of ten to twenty unconscious or deceased men near me; the part of me that was in control tried to remember where I'd seen that face before. 

A last bear of a man lurched at me, and Inuyasha started forward. Before he could take two steps, though, we were locked in combat, moving too fast for him to intercept and not risk hurting me.

We slashed, kicked, punched; no holds were barred. His face was full of greed and sweaty; mine was perspiring lightly but my eyes were coldly level. I ducked, landing a powerful kick on his chest that sent him stumbling back, then snapped my wrist back and threw the dagger into his throat. He dropped with a choked gag—the fight had ended as it had begun. 

The real me returned, realized how many men I'd just killed and/or injured, and very efficiently lost my past few meals. 

"Kagome?" I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and looked at Inuyasha. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," I said hoarsely. "Dandy. I just got overtaken by some warrior spirit or something that used me to slaughter twenty men, you know, the usual. How was your day?"

"What happened? How did you know how to _do_ that?"

I would have buried my head in my hands, but they were covered in blood. _I_ was covered in blood. "Please don't ask me," I replied, more at a loss than ever. "I don't know. I just don't know."

And without another word, I passed out.

Darkly glinting eyes, watching from the bushes, narrowed and vanished. 

~

The sixth day passed, for the most part, in silence as I tried to puzzle out what exactly had happened and I presumed he did the same. After a bitterly cold wash I'd forced myself through in the nearby stream, I felt a little cleaner, but not as much on the inside. The only way I was able to justify it myself was by telling myself it wasn't me, and reminding myself of stories from the few girls to escape from them. It was like when I'd rescued Inuyasha from the Multaro castle—something _else_ had taken over.

On the dawn of the seventh day of our travel, we arrived at Fushiginoko Tower. I first saw it from Inuyasha's back, a slender speck against the predawn sky, exactly where the map said it would be: miles and miles ahead of us. How could it be _visible?_

"Oi Kagome, what's that thing over there?" Inuyasha pointed to what _had_ to be it. But it was _huge_

"I think it's the Fushiginoko Tower," I said with slow deliberation. 

"That's not supposed to be visible until we're a _lot_ closer to it," he pointed out.

"It's big, I guess," was my witty response. He snorted.

The more of it I could pick out as we drew nearer, the more I realized that this was no chessboard rook. The tower itself was easily seven hundred feet tall, but it was so fantastically intricate and magnificent that you could spend an hour looking at it and exploring it every day for ten years and on the first day of the eleventh you'd still find something new. [AN: I just almost fell outta me chair]

When we landed, I didn't want to go in. It was too big. I wasn't supposed to be here.

My head barely came up to the door's knocker alone. The huge slabs of wood were at least fifty feet high. "We'll never get those open," I said darkly, regretting coming here. What were we _doing?_ If tried warriors and mages hadn't seen the Shikon Jewel for countless ages, what were _we_ going to do?

"Push," Inuyasha ordered. I obediently set my palms against the smooth wood, glancing up at the stone arches and banisters and carvings above in wonder. 

The doors swung open, hinges silent, not a creak to mark their passage. We glanced at each other, stunned, and then I said weakly, "Well, you know, if it's gonna only show its map to me, I guess it's only gonna open its doors to me too. Makes sense if you think about it."

"Oh yeah," Inuyasha said dazedly. "Perfect sense." 

The heels of my boots clicked neatly against the floor, a black stone so brightly polished that it reflected my image back at me. Lit torches cast off a clear, steady white-blue light that bounced off the stone walls and left no corner untouched, their flames dancing merrily. Pillars lined the room, leading to the right, and I supposed we'd find a way to the Jewel soon enough. Deep etchings scrolled over the walls, lines without any semblance to an order or organization I recognized. Beyond lurked the hall, which curved around past my line of sight, along with the unknown. With a nod to Inuyasha, I plucked a torch from its holder and started uneasily pacing down the hall, noting the slight slope.

What would my grandfather think if he saw me now?

"What a weird place," Inuyasha remarked. "Kinda creepy."

"It's not designed to make you happy," I said shortly. Something about this place was setting my nerves on edge, as if within every grain of stone was stored an ancient secret, secrets that could make or break an empire in a day or less. 

My hand absently brushed the wall—and we both started when the lines moved.

I jerked my hand back, alarmed, and the engravings shifted back to their original state. "What the"

"Touch it again," Inuyasha urged.

"Not happening! Ever!" I protested. "You do it!"

He set his palm against it, and nothing happened. "It'll only work for you," he said grudgingly. 

"Surprise, surprise." I reluctantly set my palm against the stone, feeling an electrical shock run through me. Blue-white light rippled up and down the hall, sending shivers up my spine, and the wall throbbed with life, stone writhing all around. The lines broke and joined, twisted and unbent, and I watched with fascination for an unknown length of time. 

Before me were two new creations, one unfinished. The first was something written over and over again in different languages and alphabets until it came to mine.

_"BEHOLD THE CHILD OF LIGHT AND PEACE_

WHO LIVES A FALSEHOOD LIFE

WHO ASCENDS TO THE HIGHEST FROM THE UTTER LEAST

IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING AND STRIFE

WHO BRINGS A LIGHT TO BLESS THE WORLD

WHO FROM HER GLORY WILL BE HURLED

THE MAKER, THE BREAKER

TO THEIR FEET DARKNESS FALLS

THE TAKER, THE WAKER

THE SAVIOR OF ALL

RISE TO THE HEAVENS 

O CHILD OF LIGHT

FOR YOU THE MUTE SPEAK

CITIES FALL TO YOUR MIGHT

THE STARS SHALL BURN

AND TRUST SPUN FROM THE WILD

WHEN THUS DAWNS THE AGE

OF THE MYSTERY CHILD."

"Well, I never was that big of a fan of poetry myself," Inuyasha began, but fell silent as the lines halted their movements to present the finished image.

From the smallest hair to the turn of my chin, I was etched into that wall. Below it, in the same, strange writing, was scripted out, _"KAGOME, Savior of Aohoshi."_

"Oh, would you look at that," I said, voice faint and dizzy. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

My image moved, pointing to the wall behind us. I turned around and set my palm on it. It vanished, revealing a circular chamber about ten feet wide, and instinctively I walked in. After a moment Inuyasha followed.

"Where do you think we're going?" he asked uncertainly.

"Somewhere with lots of fire and pain, I'm sure." The wall slid down again, and we both jumped and looked uneasily at each other. Was there a way out? Had we just walked into a death trap? "UmI don't think that was good," I said with a swallow.

Inuyasha crossed his arms and snorted derisively. "Sure, we all know how people go out of their way to erect enormous towers that allow in only the prophecy child and then put all sorts of killing devices inside so the prophecy child can die. There's a way out of this, there always is."

"I don't know." I examined the wall in front of me, fear gnawing at my belly. "I'd really rather not like to starve to death until _after_ we save Kikyo and the world, you know."

There was no response. Whirling around, I found only empty air where he had stood.

Why did this always happen to me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inuyasha blinked. One minute, he'd been standing beside Kagome in the circular room. Now he was not. Instead, he was in an enormous hall, standing around like an idiot and scratching his head. Kagome was, of course, nowhere in sight.

Why did this always happen to him?

Shaking his head, he sucked in a breath and bellowed, _"Kagome! OI, KAGOMEEE!" _There wasn't a response, but then he wasn't really expecting one. 

Well, there was nothing to be done until one of them found the other, and that wasn't going to happen anytime soon if he just waited on his own. He strode forth, heels clicking confidently against the same black stone as the hallway, past the pillars and statues regarding him with solemn eyes. Against that enormous hall, he was dwarfed to seem no taller than an insect; a strange frequency hung on the air, giving it the feel of a field before battle. For the first time since he'd set foot in the cursed tower, there were windows shedding light like the winter's heavy coat at the dawn of spring. The light seemed almost thick, and outside clouds were starting to gather.

Returning his attention to what lay ahead, he found a set of steps carved from glassy white marble, contrasting starkly against the inky floor. At the top lay a dais, with a block of stone standing altar-like.

"Stone, stone, stone," he groused, heading up the steps with a not-so-cheery expression. "Everything in this whole damn building is _stone._ If they were going to take the time to build some huge thing stickin' out of the ground just to impress Kagome, not to mention enchant some stupid paper to only show _her_ the way, you'd think they'd at least use a little wood here and thereHeating this entire thing in winter would take months, honestly."

Reaching the head of the steps halted his ranting momentarily, as his attention was captivated instead by the long blade on the altar. It was rusty and decrepit, a true cripple of a weapon; and yet there was an aura over it, one that bespoke of ancient power and epic battles, of too many better days it had seen. 

Just as his fist closed on the battered hilt, a roll of thunder boiled up from the heart of the now-thick clouds like the war drum of the gods, one that nearly drowned out the cry that split the air, wrenched from Kagome's throat.

~

Pacing around the room gave me the feeling that I was going in circles. That could have been due to the fact that it was a circular room, but thanks to my companion vanishing into thin air, my powers of deduction were about as sharp as my aim at the moment.

What the hell had just happened to Inuyasha? People didn't just _vanish,_ things like that didn't happen in the real world.

It then occurred to me that perhaps, since we'd set foot in the tower, we hadn't _been_ in the real world, and that made me feel even peachier. What was going to happen to us now? I had to find Inuyasha somehow, but the tower was so huge I didn't think I could find him without starving to death first.

There was a lurching grate behind me, and the wall that had disappeared to let us in before now gritted up, sliding into the wall above my head and revealing an entirely different place than the hallway. I'd been moving without even knowing.

I stumbled out before _I_ disappeared and found myself on the first deck of the tower's roof. Stone arches swung out from beneath, curving up to join at a point directly above the center of the circular tower. From where they joined, a giant steel ring was hung—or at least I assumed it was connected to there; it was at least fifty feet in diameter and didn't touch any of the arches, yet remained suspended in midair. Above it was another platform, supported by more arches springing from the stone supports that cradled the ring. If I had been airborne and on eye level with the second platform, I would have seen that there were four columns on that platform, each with an arch that met directly above the center and held a thing that resembled a wheel of four upward-pointing spikes of beaten silver circling around a fifth six-foot spike, reaching up like a spindle to the sky.

I was busy standing and staring up at the giant ring with my mouth open like a cow, wondering how on earth the builders had forged one so enormous, when my feet were lifted off of the ground. Wind whipped around me, carrying clouds that trailed behind it and tossing my hair and clothes into a frenzy. I struggled madly but couldn't return to the ground.

**_Relax,_** a soothing said, echoing within my mind. **_I need your help as much as you need mine._**

"Yeah, I'll bet," I retorted sharply, voice quavering, "except for the part where YOU'RE NOT THE ONE FLOATING SIX HUNDRED FEET IN THE _AIR!"_

There was an impatient sigh. **_Do you want me to help you or not? I don't have time for this, I have to go get myself reborn or I'll vanish completely._**

"You can't help me if I'm dead, and usually being airborne more than fifty feet above the ground has that fatal effect," I snapped. 

**_You're not _going_ to die already! This is the only way for you to get the jewel, believe me! When it's over, I'll put you back on the ground!_**

_"YOU'RE_ the one doing this?!" Any minute now, my eye was going to start twitching "Make me stop going up! If I was _meant_ to fly I would have started a long time ago!"

There was a cough, and I was presented with images of myself slowing my fall and floating on that cushion I'd hastily made. Nevertheless, my upward motion halted and I was left in the center of the ring. **_Need I say more? Now, listen. My name is Midoriko and I'm the one who made the Shikon Jewel in the first place. This is a sacred tower and I was the one to keep foreigners out of this land up until now. The gods demand that I be reborn or leave the mortal world entirely, so my power has waned this past year until I could no longer hide the nation. You are the only available one with enough power to do what must be done._**

"Great, I'm a second choice," I grumbled. "What needs to be done'? Pruning hedges? Tower needs a new coat of paint?"

**_Nothing so easy, I assure you._** There was a hint of sarcasm in Midoriko's voice.

"Then what is it?"

**_You will summon the Shikon Jewel, and then you will use it to stop the war from beginning._**

It occurred to me that, when I'd first been told that I had to impersonate Kikyo, that this was not in the job description. "Umwhat now?"

**__**

You must wake the sleeping queen of the land who is imprisoned in the castle nearby. She has slumbered for twelve years since the demon lord Naraku first drew his forces together and launched an offensive to usurp her throne. Her power and the Shikon Jewel's combined and drove him out, but at the last she was surprised and cast into a deep slumber. When she reclaims her throne and the use of the jewel, none can defy her will and war will not be made in the name of claiming this nation. If Naraku returns, you must kill him for once and for all. A note of strain entered her voice. **_You do not have a choice—you must do as I say, for the gods decree it so—and they are impatient with me. Be prepared: I'm sending the jewel now._**

"WHAT?! NO! ARE YOU SOME KINDA NUTCASE?! I DON'T WANT THE STUPID THING, I DON'T WANT TO STOP SOME WAR, ALL I AM IS A STUPID PEASANT GIRL—"

**__**

Who is the god's chosen. You saw the wall, now keep your mouth shut and let me work!

A flash of lightning was the only warning I had; I didn't know then, but the lightning itself had hit the metal spindle. And then the ring started to move. As I watched in mingled awe and apprehension, it made a full circle, then another, gaining speed. A current was in the air that set my hair on edge, and every sense of mine was screaming to get out and _now._

The ring was no more than a blur, whirling faster and faster, and I was shaking violently when the first bolts of energy shot from its edges and sent white pain racing through every bone of my body. I screamed until my lungs also hurt; it felt as if freezing fire was being forced through my body, as if lightning was stabbing into every nerve. 

**__**

You little idiot! Don't take it in, CHANNEL it! CHANNEL that energy or it'll kill you! Focus on the jewel!

Somehow I knew what she was talking about: in my minds eye was painted a blue-tinged pool of white fire, and the pain was shooting from it overflowing. I closed my eyes tighter and forced that energy into a knot of power forming between my palms. It took all the mental will and strength I had to keep it flowing steadily into there, but it helped that I knew if I didn't do something I was going to die. Tears of pain were running down my face and my hands were bleeding, but I couldn't stop channeling itI couldn't let it destroy me

And then it was all over. I floated to the ground, half-conscious, as the ring slowed and the clouds began rolling away. My knees couldn't hold me; I collapsed once I touched the floor of the deck, shivering, my muscles remembering the pain and aching because of it. Then, with a clink, something landed in front of me.

I forced my eyes open to find a small orb in front of me, maybe an inch and a half wide. It was a pearly lavender, with magenta and pale rose overtones, and both translucent and opaque. Power radiated from it benevolently, like warmth from a hearth's fire.

**__**

That's the Shikon Jewel, Midoriko said, her voice distant and fading. **_It gives power to any who possess it, and you alone can use it now. The power within it will help you, but the fate of Aohoshi rests on your shoulders. Good luck._**

"Wow, all I wanted for my birthday was a pony, and instead I get an impossible task. Whee." 

"Kagome!" Inuyasha appeared from the room that had brought me here, eyes wide. "What the hell just happened?You look like _shit."_

"Thanks," I muttered. "Thanks a lot. Look what I did." The Shikon Jewel glistened amiably in the cloudy light as I held it up for him to see.

His jaw dropped. "That isn'tthat's notit _can't_ be—"

I lowered my arm wearily. "It's the Shikon Jewel, and I went through hell to get it, so trust me, I know."

"Lovely little token," a voice said, clipped and cold. "Don't mind if I take that now."

A hand plucked it from my fingers and was gone. I frantically looked around, only to find a man in a baboon pelt sitting casually on the edge of the railing. "Give that back!" I yelled, my voice scratching from overuse. "Who do you think you are?!"

"My name is Naraku," he said, his voice both menacing and gleeful at the same time. "The one who imprisoned the queen of this country, and now her precious bauble is _all mine."_

I was not fazed in the least, of course. _"You're_ Naraku? What kind of crappy evil overlord runs around in a monkey suit? I've seen crazy people who dress themselves better than you! And doesn't that thing _stink_ after a while? I mean really, I can't believe you wake up each morning and think, Oh, golly, it's a lovely day, I think I'll go skin me a monkey'!"

The heat of his glower sent chills up my spine, and Inuyasha moved to step in front of me. "Piss of, you shit," he suggested charmingly. "No, wait, hand over the jewel before I beat the shit out of you and _then_ piss off." After a moment, he added, "You shit."

"Your vocabulary never fails to wound me, Inuyasha," he said dryly. At least as long as they kept talking, I could have time to string an arrow "I'm just mutilated with all the emotional scars you've given me. You know, actually, little Kagome, _I_ was the one who gave the demon crow its strength to fool Kikyo and draw you both out. Of course, _you_ didn't save her in the end, so it's really your fault she's still a slave."

"Get help," Inuyasha snapped. "I mean it. You're messed up."

"Not as messed up as he's gonna be." I let loose the arrow and for once it flue true to its aim, possibly because of my anger. My hands hadn't stopped bleeding and red besmirched both the bow and arrow, but that was nothing compared to what happened when it hit.

A bone-rattling explosion rocked the tower to its very foundations and I clung to the rail nearby for support. It was followed by another blast, and then something hit me in the chest, pain exploding out once more. I fainted.

When I came to, my hand was clenched around something cutting into my throbbing palm. I sat up with a groan and immediately wished I hadn't, thanks to the enormous headache and the other various pains racking my body.

"There's good news, and then there's bad news," a gruff voice said quietly as I laid back down and closed my eyes. "Which first?"

"The good."

"Naraku's hurt bad. You took a couple of chunks out of him and he's not going to recover for a long time."

"How do you know him, anyway?"

There was a long pause, and then Inuyasha said, "He's the reason my father is dead. He led troops against us and my father was killed in the battle."

I couldn't think of a proper response to this, so instead I asked, "What's the bad news?"

He held up what looked like a piece of a broken marbleonly it was an opalescent lavenderand had a thick aura of power.

"When you hit Naraku, you must have hit the jewel," he informed me, tone grim. "There were five pieces. One of them, you've got. The other, I've got. Two of them flew off and I don't know where they went. The last.Naraku's got."

I winced and sat up, slowly this time. "Crap. Crap crap crap crap GODS DAMMIT!"

"Pretty much my reaction, but I used stronger words." He picked me up and I didn't have the strength to protest. "Come on, let's get out of here."

I didn't respond—I was already asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Yeah, I know this chapter was kinda rushed, but from here on out, the action is going to really start picking up. Please ignore any typos—I'm writing this without being able to sit up properly over the keyboard (I have to lean back) because my back really, really hurts. . Must be the backpackthose things are like slave chains. I'm pretty sure Saph's writing the next chapter, but if she don't want to, heaven knows I will. Otherwise, until next time, dear readers!


	6. Slaphappy

**Mirror Images**

**Chapter Five: Slaphappy**

**_Hello hello hello! 'Tis I, Jade the Insane, back for another…er…fun-filled chapter…yeah. Technically, I should be doing my math homework, but that's what the wee hours of the morning are for. -^_^-_**

**_First off, however, I would like to answer a few questions and reply to a few comments from the reviews. Someone asked exactly how many people are writing under Geldyn Eyes and whether it was just Saph and I or there was someone else involved. It's just me and Saph, and if you're curious, here's how it started: I was over at her house one day, and she asked me to beta-read the first chapter of Mirror Images. I agreed, and then got into the story to the point where we were collaborating on the plot. Somehow—I can't remember if I suggested it or she did—I ended up being slated for writing the third and fourth chapters, with the plan that she would take this and the sixth or we would switch off each chapter. Well, one snowy winter-vacation day, I had nothing better to do, so I drew a picture of Fushiginoko Tower and wrote out the exact chain of events for the rest of the story (which will probably fluctuate and go all over the place, but at least it was a vague outline). When I explained to Saph what I thought should happen in this chapter, though, she basically threw up her hands and handed the story over to me because she didn't want to keep it all straight. _**

**_Second, someone commented on them using post-industrial age terms such as 'you're on crack' and this is a good point. ::long pause as I think:: This is going to be kinda complicated. Mirror Images, as it is, is set in a fantasy world that is not Earth but more like a parallel world where certain things are the same and certain things are not. In their world, though, there are drugs, and considering in most books magic tends to involve plants and fungi, everything found in nature would have been investigated. Also, the continent this is set in is very large—large enough for there to be a glacier on one end and a rainforest in the south. There are plants from Earth and some not from Earth, but in relation some Earth plants do not exist there. For example, they'd have a made-up herb called…um…thistletwone, but there'd be no holly. Or something like that. So things like crack, being processed from the cacao plant (Gotta love Health class—I swear they make us research this stuff so we know just what to buy) and 'magic mushrooms' exist in that world, and their uses are very well known. Also, this is not going to apply in this version of Mirror Images, but the times of Earth and the world they exist in are pretty evenly matched, only their world hasn't been subject to industrialism and there actually is magic. I say 'this version' because we're considering the possibility of changing the names and quite a few things and seeing if it could be published, since it is an AU. Kagome would be Aidan (little fire), Inuyasha would be Caelan (strong warrior), Miroku would be Keir (dark), Sango would be Lexael (derived from Lexa, 'protector of humanity'), Sesshoumaru would be Valin (powerful warrior [as opposed to Caelan's 'strong warrior' -_-;;;]) and Shippô I may cut altogether, I dunno. But also I'm worried about it being plagiarism. I mean, instead of being half-demon Caelan is half-changeling, and he turns human every night instead of new moons, and there is no sit necklace, and Aidan's powers come from her bloodline (she and every other mage is descended from the Faye, the makers of the world and the Fushiginoko (Retaren-Anm) Tower, and the last Faye makes the Shikon (Aislinn—that means 'dream' and as the Shikon Jewel is called the Jewel of Four Souls, the jewel in this one is called DreamGate because it allows the user to control people through their dreams) Jewel (the last Faye's name is Akallyah, but she takes the place of Midoriko and the reason Midoriko mentions being reincarnated is because the third book—if it gets published—will be about her reincarnation, who was born on Earth). And the Naraku figure is going to be one sick, sad, messed up little puppy. -^_^-_**

**_But I worry about the characters. Will it be too similar to Inuyasha? Will I get slapped with a lawsuit? Should I do it? Am I just being overly anal about it? Feel free to review at the end and let me know—I want some other people's input on this, definitely._**

**_Anyway, yes I did do a picture of Fushiginoko Tower, and if you're curious, it should be on my Side7 account. I'll see if I can put a link at the bottom of this page or on our profile site… Oh yes, and Demon Without Fangs is Saph's brainchild. No editing, no writing, no suggestions from me. (Which explains why it gets out faster than my chapters!)_**

**_Disclaimer: Oh jeez, I think I've made it pretty clear that I don't own this by now. But if you're convinced I do, get a life. I don't. _**

**_Oh yeah! And someone mentioned that the Tower's defenses were down so Naraku could get in—he didn't, he used his miasma-floaty-thingy and went straight to the roof. Also, when Inuyasha tells Kagome to shoot the bird following them, that wasn't a bird—it was Monkey-man. It will alllll become clear soon enough…._**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There had been only two times in my life when my head had hurt quite this much. The first was when Grandpa and Souta had decided it'd be funny to get me drunk as a skunk during the Winter Solstice Festival. My reputation was never quite the same after cartwheeling around the marketplace and belting out the most vulgar drinking song I had known at the time at the most ungodly hour of night imaginable. 

Unfortunately, this was the second time. 

I found myself spouting off a surprisingly long string of words that would have not done wonders for my reputation either and rolling over so the sun wouldn't hurt my eyes quite so much. Then something sent a tiny electrical shock through me, spreading from my hand and coursing through my veins to dull the pain from not only my headache but, I discovered as I dragged myself into a sitting position with a groan, my bandaged forearms. I'd no recollection of putting them on there or why my arms needed bandaging, so I carefully unwrapped them, only to find strange, spidery red lines that ran over my hands and up to my elbows. The flesh around them was slightly swollen and flushed, but it was the lines that stung the most, as if they were burns—but the lines were so fine and delicate, it seemed almost as if someone had had to draw them there.

A glowing pulse emitted from my hand, and soothing light washed over my arms. The lines faded, then turned to white scars, and my headache vanished. Opening my hand, I found my piece of the Shikon Jewel and bit my lip. It gleamed at me with the innocence of a child, but when I picked it up, I found one last scar: a white crescent-moon where it had laid in my palm. 

I vaguely recalled it cutting into my hand as I clenched it on the top of the Tower, but my hands had been bleeding long before then…That was where the scars had come from: the overload of power. I rubbed the crescent on my palm thoughtfully, then looked around. 

I was in a clearing. A fire crackled to my left, thin wisps of clouds stretching across a sky washed in red-gold on one side and indigo on the other. Twisting, I could see the Tower through the trees, an enormous and aged presence in my mind. The memories sent a brief shiver down my spine, and I closed my eyes momentarily. They opened when my stomach made its demands clear with a deep rumble.

Inuyasha must have somehow gotten both of us and our packs down from the tower, because they were both there. I crawled over to mine and pulled out a pot, some herbs and dried meat and vegetables, and the water skin, then dumped some water in, took a long drink for myself to eradicate the horrible taste from being asleep too long, and started making some stew.

It was simmering over the fire when there was a snap behind me and I whirled around, only to find Inuyasha with an armful of wood and two wood grouses. "You're up," he observed, dropping the wood with a clatter and waving the grouses at me. "Can you use these?"

I blinked. "Actually, yes." They would do well in the stew. 

"Good." He handed them to me and I would have started plucking them if he hadn't wrapped a hand around my right wrist and pulled out the arm, studying the light lines. "I take it the Jewel helped you heal."

I inexplicably found myself blushing and pulled my hand free. "It did it all on its own. Thanks for bandaging them, though."

He snorted and stood up. "Humans heal too slow. I didn't want to have to amputate your arms if they got infected and have you slow us down anymore than you already are."

I'd just used my dagger to decapitate one of the grouses. Its head was hurled at his bag, but unfortunately for him he turned around and my aim had been off, so it hit him in the face instead. He swore and sent me a look that could have killed relatively small animals. 

Something picked up on the edge of my senses, something oddly familiar, though I couldn't quite place it…My fingers ran over the crescent scar again.

And it all snapped into place.

"Someone's coming," I said tersely, trying to concentrate. "Someone with a shard of the Jewel…they're getting closer…"

"Naraku," Inuyasha growled. His hand went to the hilt of a weapon at his hip—but it wasn't the dirk he'd been using before; it was a long sword. 

"What do we do?" I asked, voice tense, heart thudding in my ears.

"We let him come to us, and we beat the shit out of him," replied the grim Inuyasha.

His ears had long before picked up on someone coming through the woods, and now mine did too. A robed figure was pushing through the underbrush, dark and unidentifiable, and I slowly got to my feet, getting my bow and an arrow and stringing it.

Inuyasha sent me a look that said 'You couldn't hit him if you tried', but I ignored that and tried to line up a shot, then loosed. 

While it didn't get within fifteen feet of the approaching person, it did fly swiftly into the treetops, and a moment later there was a squawk and something fell in a flurry of feathers. I covered my mouth with my free hand, appalled, and Inuyasha muttered, "Smooth. Now he knows we know he's there."

The figure started, then ducked, and Inuyasha yelled, "Show yourself, you bastard, before I make you into next week's jerky!"

"Ew, Inuyasha, that was gross." I shuddered.

"Yeah, well, it worked." 

The person stood up slowly, hands raised, and walked forward until he reached the edge of the clearing. "I'd no idea you were so…territorial," he said, sounding somewhat nervous. "If I'd known that was how you viewed all travelers, I assure you I would have not approached your…Kagome?"

"Approached my _what?!"_ Inuyasha sputtered.

I, in turn, blinked. "Miroku?"

The man pushed back his hood. "None other. What the devil are you doing here? No one knew what'd happened to you after you were taken by the guards—we received no word, and no one knew what'd happened to you."

"Who is this?" Inuyasha demanded. 

"I didn't think anyone would miss me, among other things," I said dryly. "I know the town mothers don't hold me in particularly high regard."

He laughed. "Oh, yes, I remember that—the drinking, the cartwheeling, the song—how did it go? _There once was a farmer who lived by a crick, and every night he would play with his—"_

"Kagome, explain," Inuyasha cut in.

 _"BANGO in the moonlight and watch the lady next door," _Miroku continued gleefully, _"and you could tell just by looking that she was a—"_

"Miroku, stop!" I tried to command, but I was half-bent over from laughing.

_"DECENT young lady, and she'd roll in the grass, and when she rolled over you could see her white—"_

_"SHUT UP!"_ Inuyasha bellowed. Miroku stolidly ignored him.

_"LEGS in the moonlight, and it was the farmer's good luck when she went and told him she'd teach him to—"_

"MIROKU! STOP! I GET THE POINT!" [AN: That actually is a real song, which I partially learned courtesy of the seniors on the bus.] I ran a hand through my hair, then realized the presence of a Shikon Jewel was still there. "Miroku, do you—" I cut off when I saw a glow coming from his right shoulder. "You have one, don't you?"

"Have one what? Kagome, what in the seven _hells_ is going on?" Inuyasha looked ready to suffer a massive coronary collapse. 

"This is Miroku," I said distractedly. "Miroku, this is Inuyasha, Prince of Tetsui. Miroku's a friend of mine and a priest from my old town. But…he's got a shard."

He blinked. "How did you know that?"

"Turns out I'm a mage," I sighed. 

"So'm I, a mage-priest, but I've walked through the halls of my old mage-monastery school under the eye of fifty trained and powerful priests and they didn't notice a thing." 

I shrugged. "Anyway, we've kinda got to get the Jewel back together so we can save Princess Kikyo…so…um…can we have your shard?"

On 'have' Inuyasha had started walking towards him, and by 'shard' he'd seized Miroku by the front of his robes and hauled him up, his sandaled feet dangling a few feet from the ground. "Shard. Now."

"Like I said, you really aren't big on 'please' and 'thank you', are you?" I asked cynically. "Put him down."

In response, he shook the unruffled Miroku. "Hand it over or I've got me a new scratching post. _Please."_

"Inuyasha, _sit."_ There was a muffled _wumpf_ and a not-so-muffled oath, but I could see the glisten of a second Jewel shard tightly clutched in his fist.

Immediately, it flashed darker and Miroku cried out, falling to his knees, face paling several shades. Sweat rolled down his face, and I shouted, "Inuyasha, give it back to him!" When the said demon gave me an irritated and questioning look, I gestured to the shuddering monk. "He needs it!"

He grudgingly dropped the shard into Miroku's shaking palm, and a moment later the priest straightened, breathing hard. "…There's the answer to that," he gasped out. "I'm afraid I have to hold onto this for a little while."

"What was that?" I asked wonderingly.

He paused, then reached out and plucked away the chunk of the Jewel Inuyasha had hanging around his neck. The hanyou jumped and flinched, paling himself, then snatched the piece back. "The demonstration wasn't necessary, you dumbass," he growled, glowering at him. "You could've just _told_ her!"

"A picture is worth a thousand words, my good friend." Miroku dusted himself off, then sat down by the fire and lifted the lid of the stewpot. "Mm, smells good."

"Hey—get out of there!" Inuyasha's foot moved swiftly towards the man's side, only to be cracked across the ankle with his staff. "Ow! Shit, you ass, that hurt! Kagome, make him go away!"

I shrugged. "If he goes, he takes the Shikon Jewel shard with him."

"No he doesn't! He's leaving it right here!"

That earned him another whack from the staff, this time over the head, though miraculously the freshly-ladled bowl of stew remained balanced on Miroku's knee. "I have no intention of dying a horrible, painful death," he said dryly. "And undoubtedly, I will die if I lose the shard I have, most likely until the Shikon Jewel is reunited."

"So that's settled. Miroku's coming with us." I walked over to the pack, ignoring Inuyasha's sullen muttering, and bent over to dig out another bowl.

I had recalled Miroku's unfortunate tendencies around female hindquarters and straightened hastily just as a hand brushed my backside. I slapped him, face burning a bright scarlet, and yelled, "YOU _PERVERT!"_ Inuyasha had already leapt to his feet, looking ready to kill.

Miroku mournfully rubbed his reddened cheek and let out a long sigh.  "You know of my curse, dear Kagome, and what I must do."

"Yeah, but _not_ with _me!"_ I sent him a dirty look, went around the packs so I wouldn't be within range, and pulled out the bowl.

"Try that again and I don't care what Kagome says, I'm ripping you to shreds," Inuyasha muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Miroku pretended not to hear, but I noticed.

It was going to be a long, long night.

~

Inuyasha glowered at the monk calmly sipping his soup. How _dare_ he stroll in, treat _him_ like an ignorant young puppy, feel up Kagome, and settle right in without so much as a 'by-your-leave'? 

_And where did he get the idea that he can **touch** Kagome?_

He blinked, a bit startled. Where had that thought come from? Sure, the girl was okay, if a bit obnoxious, but it wasn't like she was his territory or anything. Besides, he had an obligation to Kikyo—they'd been betrothed, after all. That was probably his father's stupid idea that falling for humans would run in the family. 

_Not like he wasn't right,_ pointed out that annoying voice in his head that many would have called the voice of reason. He just called it a pain in the ass. _You and Kikyo were pretty tight for a while. Of course, when you saw her in Multaro was the first time you'd seen her in three years. Word is she's turned into the ice queen._ _Kagome, on the other hand—there's something to make you wonder how the two could even be compared. Kikyo: Ice Queen. Kagome: Fire Princess, practically. Kikyo wouldn't even **touch** a dead bird, and Kagome hit you in the face with one's head. Oh yeah, they're **really** alike. It's like Kagome's…everything Kikyo's afraid to be._

_She's just a peasant with some powers,_ shot back the nasty voice in his head. _And she's the only way to getting Kikyo back. She's a tool, that's all._ **_My_** _tool._

**_My_**_ Kagome._ _If Miroku touches her one more time, I'm killing him._

He shook his head. Where was this coming from?! It wasn't like he was jealous—it wasn't like he even liked Kagome that much! She was the most disrespectful, brutally honest, rude girl he'd ever met, and she was nothing compared to Kikyo! He didn't like her…Right? He couldn't be jealous.

She laughed from the other side of the fire with Miroku, most likely over some stupid thing that had happened in the past. She never laughed with _him._ In fact, she didn't even smile nearly so much with him. This Miroku was nothing but a lady's man—couldn't she see that?

Inuyasha crossed his arm and hmphed to himself. He _wasn't_ jealous.

~

By eight o'clock the next morning, Miroku had been slapped seventeen times, Inuyasha had been whacked over the head with the staff twenty-three times, and I was ready to strangle both of them. How did it happen that instead of it being the 'brave and noble' Princess Kikyo coming to the rescue of a kingdom and halting a war, it was the 'normal-and-never-wanted-to-be-doing-this' Kagome? Clearly, some deity had a sick and twisted sense of humor, but I was not really appreciating it right then.

"We'd better find somewhere to pick up more supplies," I called to Inuyasha, who was walking ahead. "We have no clue where the remaining shard is, so we might as well stock up."

He gave no acknowledgement of my statement but lifted his head, sniffing deeply and narrowing his eyes. "There's a village about ten miles north," he announced after a minute. "Lots of people, metal, and bone. Probably a warrior clan."

"That's going to have to work," said Miroku. "I wonder how anyone survived in this kingdom after twelve years of being walled in by that shield."

"Who knows." I shrugged. "Anyway, let's get a move on. The last thing we need is Naraku getting to that shard before we do."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at the mention of his name, but he continued to lead us on.

~

About twelve miles north of the Fushiginoko Tower, a village was perched on the top of a hill. It was surrounded by a high wall of sharpened logs, and clearly well-defended, for if the people there had wanted to survive the past twelve years, they had had to learn to battle the remnants of Naraku's army that had survived and been entrapped within the kingdom's borders after the fall of the queen. Aohoshi had once been a proud kingdom and had acted as the peacekeeper and regulator of the other countries, but in these times it was Aohoshi itself that needed the peace and order. 

The village was part of those who struggled to maintain at least part of that, the guardians of the Tower. Hope had risen when the Tower had come to life again, and some had whispered that the Shikon Jewel would be found and used to right the wrongs and reinstate the queen. Of course, when the clouds had cleared and the lightning ring stopped spinning, and the great flash had faded and something had streaked through the sky like a shooting star and landed within their village, the hope had dimmed somewhat, but what would happen now was beyond even the oldest Seer's knowledge.

A few miles to the east of the village, a figure was cutting through the forest in a streak of black and cream. Before it sprinted an enormous, chittering creature, something like a mix between a ferret and an iguana, crashing through the underbrush, movements ungainly. 

"Faster, Kirara," the rider urged, unhitching a giant boomerang from its straps. "It's going to be a tough shot from between the trees."

The giant two-tailed cat let out a rumbling cry and they flashed past tree and bush, ever getting nearer to their prey. "Here goes nothing," the young woman muttered. "Hiraikotsu, please don't—miss!"

The boomerang was hurled with deadly accuracy, quite a feat from such a slender girl. Whistling slightly, it spiraled faster and faster, then struck the demon in the back, ripping down. It let out an ear-rending shriek, then spewed a cloud of vapors at the approaching pair. They wouldn't avoid the cat-creature, but she was all too vulnerable to them, so she slid her filter mask over her nose and demounted, waiting for it to stop thrashing. When it had stilled, she bent over the mass of fur and scales and surveyed it with a practiced eye. "Good collarbone…oh, and the ribs are still intact for the most part. Papa will be pleased. Let's see…thighbones still whole, and the claws weren't damaged…Look, Kirara—the poison glands aren't even tapped! And the people want to _pay_ us—we should pay them!"

The cat daemon let out a questioning grumble, and she nodded. "Sure, you eat up, I'll change out of my working clothes... Just don't touch the paws, they've got poison in them, and be sure not to break any bones." Kirara purred happily and headed over, licking her jaw, and the young woman ducked behind a stand of bushes incase anyone stumbled on them and pulled out a robe from her pack. 

Within minutes, she emerged, hair let down from the ponytail, scarlet eyes sparkling from the joy of the hunt. Kirara had made short work of any flesh—their quarry hadn't been too big, considering—and all that was left was a neat stack of clean bones and four untouched paws. "Excellent." She wrapped them in cloth and tucked them in her pack, picked up her boomerang, and, grasping the thick fur, climbed up onto the cat daemon's back. "Back to the village!"

As they sped along, returning to the small town that had requested they exterminate the demon, Sango glanced down at her necklace to make sure it was still there. Thankfully, it was, for it was no cheap token to be thrown away.

The pale rosy-lavender piece of crystal caught the light, swinging from the rocking motion of riding Kirara, and reflected it sharply.

~

A figure stood before the doors of the cold and lifeless Fushiginoko Tower, a thoughtful and slightly angered look on his face, as if he had discovered something that would be a mild inconvenience to him. His long, flowing white hair cascaded down his back, his eyes golden, slanted, and long-lashed. He wore expensive armor and a sword was strapped at his side, though it didn't appear he used it often, if at all. A long, furry…_something_ was draped over his shoulder, though whether it was for effect or part of his anatomy there was no telling. 

"What are we waiting for, My Lord?" the diminutive creature beside him inquired nervously. 

"Is it your place to question me, Jaken?" the man asked, voice smooth and cold, like a gleaming blade of icy steel.

"N-no, of course not, My Lord!" he sputtered frantically. "You are always right! Please forgive me!"

"The Tetsusaiga is not here," he said, betraying no emotion. "My brother must have taken it."

"The unworthy whelp? _His_ hands soiling the Tetsusaiga?!" indignantly squawked the man's underling. 

"Need I repeat myself, Jaken?" He suddenly turned to the north and narrowed his eyes, inhaling, then strode on.

"My Lord, where are you going?"

Sesshoumaru did not so much as look back at his minion and answered more to himself than anyone or anything else. 

"I am going to claim my sword."

~

It was near sunset when we reached the village, partially thanks to the long climb up the hill. Of course, scouts had stopped us, but when they'd found out exactly who we were, they instead insisted on escorting us. This could have been due to, as they explained, the multitude of booby traps meant to keep out unwelcome visitors. 

"Oy!" one of our guides shouted as we approached the wall. "It's Ameko and Hiiro! You won't _believe_ who we found!"

"They safe to bring inside?" the man in the watchtower called down.

"Oh, yeah!" Ameko grinned as the giant gate slowly grated open. "You could say they're old allies!"

"Perfect timing, then!" he yelled back. "Sango just got back!"

"Sango?" Miroku echoed innocently. 

"Yeah, she's the best of the Taiji-ya, even though she's only seventeen," Hiiro answered cheerfully. "She gets sent out the most often, and she's the daughter of the village chief, so you really don't mess with her. Not if you value your life."

_Or your manhood, from the sounds of her,_ I thought wryly, but I wasn't going to say anything. If anything, it would be a good lesson for him.

We walked inside, only to find the strangest town I'd ever seen. 

In one part, there were smithies, ringing with the constant pound of hammers and grating of saws. Weapons and armor of strange materials were in separate piles, though some were in racks, and a few people were examining them and discussing something with another person. 

In another, there was a flat, dusty field, at least fifty feet wide and two hundred feet long. Practice dummies were set up in one corner, targets in another, and other training equipment and obstacles littered across. A few young boys and girls were drilling against each other under the watchful eye of a middle-aged woman, while a man and a teenage boy were sparring in another section of the field. 

There were three wide fields, covered in different crops, some being tended, with people coming off with baskets of vegetables or grain. A rice paddy was in a far part of the area within the wall, and a pasture with a few horses, some creatures I'd never seen before, sheep, chickens, and a few other animals—regular, normal ones like goats and cows. Three wells were placed near the smithies, between the training grounds and the field, and in front of twenty or thirty small, neat houses. People were everywhere, watching the livestock, forging weapons and food, weaving baskets and clothing, practicing, children playing tag in the open green lawn between the wells, talking with other people; it was as if someone had taken a small city, put everything it could possibly need in a small area, and walled it in. 

Something caught my senses—another Shikon shard, somewhere very nearby. I'd been too distracted to notice until now. 

A young woman walked towards us, crimson eyes bright. "Hello," she said politely, a small smile on her lips. "My name is Sango of the Taiji-ya—that's old tongue, and it can either mean 'Tower Guardian' or 'Those Who Kill Demons', and as long as we've known it's been the name of our clan."

"I'm Kagome," I said, voice friendly, "and that's Inuyasha, Prince of Tetsui, and that's Miroku, who's a—" _Lecher. Nasty freak. Pervert._ "—priest."

"If you kill demons, what is _that_ doing still alive?" Inuyasha said dryly, gesturing at the small cat on her shoulder. With a start, I realized it had two tails and generated _almost_ the same feeling as demons did in my mind.

"That's Kirara. She's not a demon, she's a daemon—a creature that lives with us and helps us fight." She patted Kirara's head. "What brings you to our village?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but unfortunately, Miroku beat me to it.

"We came to see you, Lady Sango," he said gallantly, walking up and taking her hand. "For word of your beauty has spread to every kingdom, and I myself had to see if it were true—but you surpass every word that has been spoken of your beauty, and the sight of your face is beyond the rumors!" 

_Probably because there haven't been any,_ I thought angrily. _What a letch._

"Please allow this poor man to have his one heart's desire—will you bear my child?"

Her face turned about three different shades of red, and she wrenched her hand free, looking bewilderedly at us. "Does he ask this to _every_ woman he meets?!"

"Actually, yes," I said sadly. 

"I can't believe—" She broke off, and I saw why with a sinking heart. In the space of the time it had taken for her to wrench her hand free, ask me the question, and me to answer it, his hand had moved…well, south.

I couldn't help wincing at what happened next. After all, that huge boomerang didn't look particularly soft and cushy, but he had it coming to him. 

Sango, breathing hard and cheeks flushed with fury, looked ready to whack him over the head some more, but she instead closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and mouthed the numbers from one to ten. 

Obviously, it didn't help that much, because just as Miroku started to sit up, she reached ten, opened her eyes, and whacked him with it again. 

"I'm really sorry," I said earnestly, wishing I had knocked him out before we'd gotten in the gate. "I'd say that usually he isn't this bad, but…well…he is."

"Would you honestly mind if I killed him?" Sango asked breathlessly. 

"No," Inuyasha said darkly. "Have at it."

I sent him a look and said apologetically, "I'd agree with him, but when I get home he has to return alive or my reputation will be even worse."

"Don't you mean better?" muttered Inuyasha.

"What do you mean 'worse'?" Sango asked curiously. 

"Long story," I sighed.

"Actually, not that long," Miroku mumbled drowsily. "It all started with her grandfather and her little brother and a jug of—"

This time, I was the one to borrow the boomerang from Sango and whack him over the head with it. He collapsed again, and I realized that if he were unconscious _all_ the time it would actually make things quite a bit easier.

"Sango!" A man strode over, well muscled and with enough battle scars to make anyone with an ounce of sense think twice about taking him on. "What's this I hear about some man molesting you?"

"Dealt with him, Papa," she said firmly, glancing irately at Miroku's prone form out of the corner of her eye. "Don't worry, Kagome here assures me he's always like that and it's not just me."

He frowned, but bowed to me in greeting anyway. "The scouts tell me you come with…gifts," he said slowly. "You could say my daughter has one too."

I blinked, and realized that Sango had a Shikon shard. "Oh—oh my, yes she does."

"Is it true you are the one who called down the Shikon Jewel?" he asked, dark eyes unreadable. 

I swallowed, then said honestly, "Yes."

A smile appeared on his face. "Finally, you have re—" he paused, then said, "You have come to us."

"I—I guess I have," I said nervously, wondering if I was supposed to light up and talk in riddles like a good little prophecy child. Also, I was curious about why he'd changed what he was going to say, but I ignored it for the time being.

"Please, come and stay the night with us. You must tell us of your journey, and how you came to be here, and what you plan to do. By the way, do we know who holds the final piece of the jewel?"

I cast my eyes down. "Naraku."

"This is not good," he said after a moment, voice dark with apprehension and thought. "He will assuredly bring down much evil with the power of the Jewel in his grasp… Come, my friends. We have much to discuss." 

~

We ate quickly, our appetites vicious after not stopping for any food since breakfast, and both Sango and I glared at Miroku throughout the entire meal, though he seemed not to notice, attempting to make conversation with the oh-so-talkative Inuyasha. I didn't think it was possible for those two to get along, but one never knew. 

After dinner, I told Sango's father about our journey so far and of what we hoped to accomplish, and also of what happened if we lost the shard we carried. He listened without saying a word until I finally finished, then said slowly, "I am very surprised that you have not been attacked by any demons so far."

"We did have some trouble with bandits—" I began.

"Until you went all possessed-crazy and kicked the crap out of them," Inuyasha interrupted. 

"—but that was the only trouble we've had, other than Naraku," I finished, scowling at him. "And I don't know what happened with that, maybe some spirit they killed wanted to get them back and it used me to do it."

"That in itself is unusual, but likely," the headman said thoughtfully. "But that you have not encountered demons at _all_ is very strange. They occasionally avoid sunlight, but an entire day and no run-ins…Ever since Sango was chosen by the Jewel's shard, we have been beset my at least three demons a night that seek its power."

"We've seen neither hide not hair of any—"

_"DEMONS!" _someone shrieked from the outside. 

We bolted to our feet, Sango seizing her boomerang from the wall and me snatching up my bow and quiver, and rushed outside, only to find at least two dozen monstrous creatures flying overhead. Arrows volleyed up and struck soft underbellies, and cries wrenched through the air from some, but others merely brushed them off. 

The four shards began to glow with an eerie dark violet light, and I saw ropes of purple streaming to the wounded demons. Gashes sealed before my eyes, heads rejoining shoulders, limbs melding to the sides. 

I grasped mine and yanked as much as I could of the energy back, then slammed a shield around it to keep that from happening again, then pointed at the other three shards and did the same, squinting in concentration. "They were drawing off the power," I explained when they sent me confused looks. "Come on, let's fight these things!" Not waiting for their reactions, I strung an arrow and hastily fired. It soared past most demons, then fell outside the wall, and then there was a bellow of pain and a burst of white-blue light and cries of astonishment. Stringing another arrow, I missed the looks of amazement the others were sending me and sighted a target this time. 

The next demon was struck in the belly, blown apart, and both halves slammed into demons nearby, bringing those down. They fell onto the sharpened logs with shrieks of pain. Something swooped down from behind me, and I was pushed out of the way, but claws caught and crushed my quiver, destroying my arrows.

_Not good not good not good!_ What could I do? My friends were going to get hurt, all because the stupid demons wanted the Jewel shards that _we'd_ brought, and it had been my suggestion to come here in the first place—my friends—the demons—they were going to get hurt—

White-hot fury welled up in me, then boiled over. I screamed my anger, ignoring the blazing power erupting from me and ripping through the flesh of countless demons, ignoring the frightened and awed looks, ignoring everything but my anger and the power. It soared, blasting every demon it touched into nonexistence without prejudice, billowing out with searing heat only felt by the monsters it destroyed. Mouths opened and throats let out dying cries that were never heard. Mothers drew their children away from the windows, white-faced and sometimes screaming, though the children never made a sound—they weren't scared. They knew the girl who was fighting the demons wasn't going to hurt them.

Something came down on me, halting my rampage like the sudden cutoff of an orchestra, and a female voice echoed in my ears, sharp. _Stop that right now, Kagome! What are you, a three-year-old? Throw a tantrum and you'll only get punished—and with magic, that punishment could very well cost your life!_

Dizzy, I stumbled, nearly blind from the transition from brilliant light to dark night. Someone steadied me, then tensed, and I sensed more demons beginning to approach…though one was inside the gate already…A strong one…

The spots cleared from my eyes, and I looked over the gate, only to find someone remarkably similar to Inuyasha standing there, looking slightly bored and perfectly calm. They had long white hair, perfectly straight, a simple but well-made robe on underneath very pricey-looking armor, and what looked like a giant, fluffy worm wrapped around their shoulder. 

I was startled to hear a growl behind me, and turned to find Inuyasha supporting me but staring intently at the person fifty feet away. From the looks of it, they weren't on the best of terms. 

"Who is that, Inuyasha?" I asked. When he didn't respond, I asked, "Is that your sister?"

He gave me a strange look. "No, that's…not…my sister."

"Well, then, who is that woman."

"That's my brother."

"You mean your sister."

"No, I mean my brother."

"You're telling me _that_ is a male."

He nodded, but his gaze had already returned to the 'brother'. "What do you want, Sesshoumaru?" he snarled.

"I simply am coming for what is mine," he said loftily. "Is that a human I see, Inuyasha? How quaint—yet how fitting that you should _associate_ with the filthy things. After all, you _are_ half one."

I wanted to beat him senseless, but Inuyasha handed me over to Sango and crouched into a fighting stance. "No matter what I am, I'm still better than you, you cross dresser," he yelled. 

"Of course you are," Sesshoumaru said condescendingly. "Why don't you try drawing that blade, Inuyasha? You have a slightly larger chance of surviving if you do."

Inuyasha tensed further as I straightened, strength returning swiftly. In fact, the Shikon shard was replacing my drained magic resources too, which I didn't mind. This didn't look like it was going to be an easy fight. 

"I don't need a sword to defeat you!" 

"Not even our father's fang, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru regarded him from beneath lowered and heavily outlined eyelids.

"Our father's _what?!"_ he demanded, hand grasping the hilt.

"The _fang,_ you halfwit, his _fang._ Tetsusaiga is the mightiest blade ever to be forged, and that a half-breed like you would wield it…unforgivable. So you do see, dear brother, either you give it to me, or I kill you."

"Not much of a choice, is it?" Sango asked quietly. 

"I don't like the sound of this, though," I responded. "If this he-she-_thing­ ­­_wants the sword, then it's got to be stronger than we know."

Inuyasha drew it, then let out a snort of disbelief. "You think _this_ piece of shit's Father's fang? And you're calling _me_ the halfwit…but if you want it, feel free to have it. Of course, since you want it, you'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead claws."

"Not an issue, brother." Suddenly, he was right in front of Inuyasha, and slashing down, eerie green gas streaming from his claws.

Inuyasha barely dodged it, swinging the sword wildly. It hit Sesshoumaru's side and bounced off with a feeble _twang,_ and he gave it a look of disgust. "Oh yeah, mightiest sword ever forged, you dumb shit."

"You cannot and _will_ not wield the Tetsusaiga properly, fool!" He raked his claws over Inuyasha's hand, then seized the wrist that was holding the sword, the sickly vapors clouding around his fingers again. Inuyasha cried out and tried to pull free, and I made out angry red welts appearing, then bleeding sluggishly. "If it pains you, drop the sword," Sesshoumaru said smoothly. 

"Never!" Inuyasha slashed at him with his free hand, and the older demon was surprised into letting go. "You think I'd give up _that_ easy, you bastard?"

"Frankly, yes," his brother answered, looking irritated. "After all, what can one expect from a weakling such as yourself?" Without waiting for an answer, he charged forward and seized Inuyasha's arm again, this time taking the direct route and pulling the blade free.

Just as his hand closed over the hilt, energy cracked up out of it, hissing and snapping at him like an angry cat. Still he held on, gritting his teeth against the pain. "I—_will_—master Tetsusaiga," he growled. "It—is—_mine!"_

Then, with an electric roar, the sword let out a blaze of power, and his arm vanished. 

Sesshoumaru fell to his knees, gripping the stump of his arm, eyes wide in pain and sweat breaking out on his face. Then his gaze landed on Inuyasha—or more accurately, the shard of the jewel he wore around his neck.

Within seconds Sesshoumaru had seized the shard and ripped the arm off of the corpse of a Taiji-ya, shoved the shard into the stolen arm, and jammed it against his shoulder. The flesh molded to his own, and he picked up the Tetsusaiga again. This time, there was no crackle.

In fact, this time, it turned into an enormous blade, the hilt turning to silvery fur, and he smiled at Inuyasha, who was already shaking from the pain of the Shikon shard's absence. _"This_ is the true form of Tetsusaiga, pitiful halfling," he said smugly, "and I _would_ have let you live, had you merely handed the blade over to me. But now… I'm afraid you must die."

He swung at Inuyasha, who dodged, cursing, and I wondered frantically what I could do. 

Then Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and raised the sword, then swept it, not even at Inuyasha. 

A force unlike anything I'd ever felt before blasted into existence, tearing up the ground around us, and I drew on the power of the Jewel to form a shield around anything I could still save. It held tenuously, and I struggled to maintain it while my mind was screaming about Inuyasha and if he'd survived the explosion.

Then it was over. Sesshoumaru stood there among the smoke, cool and unruffled as a windless lake, and from him spread out deep gashes in the earth, like the rays of the sun. Inuyasha stood to the side, wide-eyed and sweat rolling down his face, and a quick glance around revealed that considerable damage had been done to the village. 

"Inuyasha, get him away from the village!" I yelled. He turned, eyes landing on me, and a strange expression crossed his face, but he nodded. 

"How pathetic," Sesshoumaru sighed. "Like I'd spare this village once I'm done with you. Still, I will play your little game." He started walking outside.

My bow was still intact, and I was almost at full strength again. I glanced around frantically for any arrows, saw a few lying on the ground, and snatched them up, heading for the stairs to the watch tower. 

"Kagome, where are you going?" Sango demanded from behind me. 

"I've got to help him fight Sesshoumaru," I said, turning around. "You and Miroku have to fight the demons—there's more coming—just hang on and don't let _anyone_ get outside the wall!"

By the time I reached the top of the stairs, the battle was back on—if it could be called that. For the most part, it was Inuyasha dodging whatever it was that Sesshoumaru was doing and trying not to collapse from what had to be agony by now after being parted from his shard for so long.

My arms shook as I tried to line up a shot. This one _had_ to make it; my power seemed especially effective against demons, so maybe it'd work like I hoped it would…I willed the tremors to stop and struggled to get in the shot exactly right.

Then my fingers slipped, and the arrow loosed, though I hadn't aimed exactly. Through some stroke of luck, though, Sesshoumaru brought up the blade, and it hit home.

There was a flash, and it shrank into the decrepit blade it had once been. I'd already strung another arrow and was aiming for his arm when he looked up at me, but in my heart I knew there was no way I'd hit him again. Still, I had to distract him from Inuyasha at all costs…

I pulled the cord that held onto the Shikon shard over my neck and clutched it in one hand. "You want a fight, Fluffy?" I shouted down at him. "Bring it on! You think Inuyasha's a weakling for being half-human? What the hell am I supposed to think about some she-male? I can't even tell which gender you are!" Part of me noted I had a bad habit of insulting powerful foes, but it was a very small and ignored part. 

Sesshoumaru glanced at the blade and at me, and you could tell he was thinking he'd have to bump me off before I messed up his sword again. He rose in the air, getting closer, and I willed him to get just a little bit further…

Then he was just high enough. I hurled my shard down to Inuyasha and bit back a gasp from the pain that suddenly coursed through every vein, growing sharper by the second. My vision started fading, but I fought unconsciousness and pain, trying to aim at the approaching big, scary demon. If I even _vaguely_ wanted to survive this, it was going to take everything I had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**_Whee, there's chapter five, I think I'll go sleep now…it's 12:48 AM and I have school tomorrow, as well as homework due that I didn't do. Ah, the wonders of having a laptop again… This does mean I will get the next chapter done even sooner, though._**


	7. Tetsusaiga

Mirror Images

**Chapter Six: Tetsusaiga**

****

Wow, my popularity has really gone through the roof, hasn't it? ::sarcastic:: After all, everybody seems to love this story SO MUCH that they don't review…9.9 Ah, what the heck, might as well keep on plowing through.

**_Sixth chapter up, looks like it's gonna be a doozy, you're all going to hate me but what can I do? Never got to putting up that Tower picture, but I'll see what I can do. Ah, the joys of having a laptop and being able to type to my chewy little heart's content…Wheeeee!_**

**_Disclaimer: Oy gevalt…here we go again with the not-owning and the saying and the…yeah. I don't own this. Deal._**

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_I hurled my shard down to Inuyasha and bit back a gasp from the pain that suddenly coursed through every vein, growing sharper by the second. My vision started fading, but I fought unconsciousness and pain, trying to aim at the approaching big, scary demon. If I even vaguely wanted to survive this, it was going to take everything I had._

Sesshoumaru regarded me levelly, though hidden anger tainted the otherwise emotionless expression. "What are you, girl?" he asked flatly. "No mortal could repulse the Tetsusaiga's power."

"I suppose you could say I'm one of those 'filthy humans'," I retorted, struggling to hide my pain, though it grew with each second. "Funny how that works. The funny thing is, no matter how they looked, with humans I've always been able to tell what gender they are. You, now—there's no telling. I mean, I can understand wanting to get in touch with your feminine side, but really, the makeup's a bit much." I cocked my head to the side, donning a thoughtful look. "And really, that robe isn't your color."

He was only ten feet away, unruffled and coldly calm, and I could hear my heart thudding in my ears. _Oh, sure, **fantastic** idea, Kagome,_ my mind screamed. _Throw away your Shikon shard and call the powerful demon a she-male._

Faster than my eye could follow, clawed fingers dug into my arm's flesh, then released it, a burning sensation spreading over the immediate white-hot pain. Scarlet blossomed from the punctures, and I glared up at Sesshoumaru, wondering how many scars I was going to collect by the time I'd accomplished Midoriko's task. 

"How strange," he mused. "You bleed like a human…very strange. If you were more than a mere sorceress with a talent for reverting things, you might have lived."

~

_"Kagome!"_ Sango started to run after the girl as she took off for the watchtower, but a hand seized her arm.

Turning, she found the monk, for once serious. "Don't," he ordered. "Kagome can handle herself. There's more to her than _anyone_ knows, _and_ you're needed here. There are more demons coming." When she hesitated, he added sharply, "I had a premonition of this, and you have to trust me! We have to get everyone that can move as far away from the gate as possible, as fast as we can!"

Scarlet eyes locked on purple for a moment, and then she nodded shortly. "Kirara!" Leaping onto the daemon, she started running to different fallen shapes and pulling them onto Kirara's shoulders if they were still alive.

Miroku went to where he would be heard best and shouted as loud as he could, "Listen to me, everyone! Get as far away from the gate as possible! A terrible attack is coming, and if you don't want to die a horrible death, you _must_ get away from the gate!" Those who were still on their own feet stumbled towards the training field, stopping to pick up the wounded, others loading them onto daemons.

"Hurry!" Miroku yelled, watching the scene unfolding at the watchtower with growing dread. It was his burden to occasionally receive premonitions, for no matter what, they always came true, even if he'd altered the chain of events that had to the occurrence in the first place.

_I'm sorry, Kagome._ As he watched, something small and glittering was thrown from the platform: it was almost time. "Thirty seconds, at most!" he called in warning, then turned around. It was going to happen soon, and beyond that…that was where the premonition had ended. He started running, found a little girl at the side of a fallen adult, and picked them both up, jogging faster.

"Get on!" Sango hauled the woman across Kirara's shoulders and took the whimpering girl, and swung the priest up behind her. They shot across the open space, and he felt a rise of power behind them. 

"We need to go faster," he muttered to her. "If we aren't past the wells in ten seconds we're going to die."

She made no response to him, but leaned forward, murmuring to the cat daemon. Kirara rumbled an answer and took to the sky, soaring even faster.

Looking back, he saw the oncoming wave of white, then the wells drawing near, but they weren't going to make it—it was coming closer—

A wall of shifting blue-silver slammed into place, keeping their doom at bay, and he heaved a sigh of relief. That only lasted for so long, though, when more demons began to gather around the village.

How were they supposed to last the night?

~

I saw Sesshoumaru raise the blade, and felt the tension mount in the air, like the sense of a rising storm. And then it came down, reminiscent of the executioner's axe of Tuzaki.

I threw my arms in front of my face in an instinctive move to protect myself, but it wouldn't have done any good in any case. Dimly I was aware of a scream breaking from my throat, and my mind shouting that I didn't want to die, but with that same unstoppable force roaring towards me, it wasn't like I could hide behind the short wall of the watchtower and hope I wouldn't get hit. 

Pale blue-white spurted from my palms, forming a weak shield against the approaching tidal wave of destructive power, and it held for a moment, but broke. I was slammed back, every muscle shrieking in pain, and it was as if every pore wanted to rip free of its anchor in flesh, as if every inch of me wanted to separate.

_The village,_ part of my mind said numbly. _This is going to hit the village._

_I might die, but I'm not going to let everyone **else** be killed!_ With difficulty, I moved my aching arms over my head, still flying headlong through the air, being carried by the terrible power, and shoved all of my reserves out, throwing up a dam of my own magic. 

My soul split from my body in that instant, but I could care less. All of my strength and willpower was focused on making the wall hold against the wave of white, holding it back from the rest of the village. Enough people had died tonight; I wasn't going to let anyone else be hurt. 

The Testusaiga's power fought mine, tearing and ripping at it, but I refused to let it budge. _No—more,_ my mind ordered. _You—have—to—go—back!_ Sesshoumaru was standing near where the watchtower had once been, watching the attack being restrained with interest. _It's—going back—where it came from!_

I dragged power up from only heavens knew where, ignoring the pain and dizziness, and forced the whiteness back. His eyes widened when the blaze gave an inch, then a foot, and then snapped. It would obey me now, and only me, and I wasn't in the forgiving mood. 

With the Tetsusaiga's own power at my back, my spirit rose in the air and pointed at Sesshoumaru, uttering two simple words, the fatal command. _Kill him._

It slammed into him like a beast turned on its master, and he was thrown to the ground. A black aura grew around him, emanating from another blade at his hip, and swallowed most of the white. The rest faded away, but he was left there for a moment, unmoving.

Then I blacked out, and everything faded.

~

In his entire life, Inuyasha had never felt so useless—and so fully ready to kill. 

All he could do was watch while Kagome had thrown her shard to him, then challenged Sesshoumaru and paid the price. He hadn't seen her fall in the explosion, but that was assuming anything was left of her… 

How could she be dead? She was Kagome—she didn't die, _ever,_ she was Kagome, that annoying girl who told him everything she thought, who never acted like he was a weakling or a monster. She'd all but sacrificed herself to save his life, and now—now she was…gone.

He clenched his fists until a warm trickle told him they were bleeding. He was no saint and he didn't pretend to be, but Sesshoumaru—

He'd killed her. Sesshoumaru had murdered Kagome, _his_ Kagome. In his fury, he didn't see the burning white force turned on Sesshoumaru or him being thrown to the ground for a good thirty seconds. When he opened his eyes, the only thing he saw was Kagome, lying on the ground, her scent still fresh in the air, a cut on her forehead sluggishly dripping blood. She was deathly pale and unmoving, and he knew she would never get up again. 

In his mind's eye, she was there, shielding herself, struggling to learn the basics of knife fighting, glaring at him when they both knew he'd done something wrong but he'd thought that like always he was going to get away with it, passing herself off as Kikyo, silencing the entire city, the quiet look in her eyes as she'd knelt for execution, coming to his rescue when he'd rashly hared off to go attack Multaro's castle and come face-to-face with the Dark Priestess…She'd been his companion, possibly his only friend, the only one to take his mannerisms and lineage in stride, the only one to accept him for who he was, not who his title said he was, not what his bloodlines named him as.

But she was lost to him now.

Then he saw how Sesshoumaru's attack had stopped far short of its potential and the clear line where the lines in the earth were halted.

Instead of shielding herself, she had used her last power to stop him from annihilating the broken remnants of the village. 

He knew in his heart of hearts that, if it had been Kikyo, she would have saved herself. It was just part of who she was—she'd justify it by saying she could save more lives if she was still alive than if she was dead, but in the end justifications meant nothing to a corpse. Kagome had acted of her own free will and done what her heart told her, and now she was gone.

Now his eyes landed on Sesshoumaru, and one thought echoed within his mind, ricocheting back and forth as he tucked Kagome's sacrificed shard in the front of his robe, gathering momentum and force: it was time for a reckoning.

[AN: Yeah, in case you didn't figure it out, while I'm not a Fluffy-hater, I'm no fangirl either. FOR THE LOVE OF CHOCOLATE, HE'S A **VILLAIN!** HE'S NOT **SUPPOSED** TO BE WORSHIPPED!!!!]

Inuyasha charged, moving faster than he'd ever moved before, and swung a fist up, ramming his brother in the face. Sesshoumaru was too stunned to react, and thus was caught by Inuyasha's claws on his other side. Never before had he been this furious, never before had he fought like this. This time, his brother had gone too far, _much_ too far, and he wasn't going to get away with it. 

Sesshoumaru found himself on the defensive, his brother actually forcing him back, fighting as if his human half didn't exist. He couldn't even use the Tetsusaiga, though it hadn't transformed into its true form after the arrow's shock, but that wasn't what Inuyasha was even after—it was as if he only wanted to kill Sesshoumaru. 

"What's the matter, little brother?" Sesshoumaru asked, trying to distract him. "Attached yourself to the human, did you?"

This only seemed to spur him on, and he attacked more viciously. Sesshoumaru swiped at him with his poison-laden claws, tearing three gashes up the side of his face, but Inuyasha hardly noticed, still throwing blow after blow. Finally his older brother landed a hit, tossing him far away, and by now he was very close to losing his formerly unshakable calm. The mere notion of Sesshoumaru wielding his father's blade and _still_ being pushed back by a mere half-breed…

"No more games," he said coldly, icy fury starting to show. "Now is the time for you to die, brother."

"Not likely, you bastard," Inuyasha grunted, trying to get to his feet, but he was swiftly growing more exhausted. The day of travel and the battle had worn on him, as had the pain of having no shard. He remembered Kagome, throwing hers down to him. If she'd kept the shard for herself, maybe she would have survived…It only suppressed part of the pain, but it was enough for him to fight. He'd need his shard from Sesshoumaru if he didn't want to kill Kagome…but she was already dead. 

The thought gave him new strength. He waited for Sesshoumaru to come to him, then slashed up, catching his breastplate and breaking it, claws digging into demonflesh. 

Sesshoumaru howled his pain, and his eyes turned red, signaling the beginning of his transformation into his true form, but then they faded back to normal and he glanced down at the Tetsusaiga, gaze uncertain for a rare moment.

Leaping forward, Inuyasha sliced down, tearing at his brother's human arm and wrapping a fist around Tetsusaiga's hilt. His claws caught the crook of Sesshoumaru's elbow, making him hiss in pain and his grip loosen just enough for Inuyasha to wrench the blade free and spring back, getting out of range of his brother's poisonous talons.

Surprisingly, Sesshoumaru laughed. "Thank you, Inuyasha. That sword holds a true demon's power in check, and I couldn't transform with it in my grasp, even though it is useless in its form now. Let us see how well you fare against a _true_ demon, half-breed!"

~

Miroku looked down at his hand, wondering if he should in fact use it, but that would only hasten his destruction...Unless his piece of the Shikon Jewel would halt the hellgate's growth, but that wasn't likely. And he could only take in so much of the demonic energy without it being a fatal dosage…

They touched down in the training field and passed off woman and child to those on the ground, watching the battle of wills and something else with wide eyes.

"Can we go closer to the demons approaching the village, Lady Sango?" he asked lowly, not wanting to arouse panic within the people.

She nodded, and they took off again, this time going over the wall. "Please let me down somewhere around here," he requested politely, mind on other things. She gave him a strange look but nodded, and they came down with twenty yards between them and a hoard of demons. "Stand back." Moving in front of them, he slipped the constraining beads from around his right forearm and held his palm out. 

With horrendous screams of terror, the monsters found themselves being pulled steadily towards the grim-faced monk and struggled wildly, but to no avail. One by one, they were pulled in, and though he could feel him nearing his limit, he doggedly sucked in more and more until none were left on that wall.

And then he allowed himself to fall to his knees, gasping for breath, sweat rolling down his face. Possibly this was the sickest he'd ever felt, but he wasn't going to die…though he was wishing he would at the moment.

An arm slipped around his shoulders and led him over to Kirara, the cat-daemon growling her concern. It was a short ride back over the wall, but as his eyes cleared, they both were confronted with something neither had expected to see.

The damage done by Sesshoumaru's deadly maneuver was clear: nothing was left standing in the swath of destruction. It abruptly halted where the wall had been, though there were no traces of either of the titanic powers that had struggled there. 

Well, there was one: Kagome's motionless form, lying in the middle of the destruction.

Sango started forward again, and again it was Miroku that held her back. "Curse you, monk, let me _go!"_ Sango cried, voice cracking with tears over the young girl who, though she had only briefly known, had clearly sacrificed her life to save her people. 

"There is nothing we can do for her now," he said, trying to keep his voice from giving out. "I've known her since she was born, but even I know when someone is beyond my reach! Your people still need help, and they are the ones she decided to save, not herself. The least we owe her is to take care of them."

Sango's shoulders slumped, trembling a bit, but after a moment she looked angrily out towards where the battle was still raging between the brothers. "I'm going to kill him," she hissed. _"I'm going to kill that bedamned monster!"_

"Lady Sango, _control_ yourself!" he ordered sternly, wondering where he had dragged up the composure to keep her from losing it when he wanted to go out and strangle the life out of the bastard himself. Didn't he _know_ who Kagome had been? Didn't he _know_ of the hopes that rested on her shoulders, the plans and ancient foretellings that could only be set in motion by _her?_ Didn't he know how much had rested on that one girl? "Kagome would have certainly _not_ wanted us to idiotically charge out and get ourselves killed as well! The only people we can help now are _yours—_There are still demons out there, and they still want the jewel shards!"

She reluctantly changed direction, and didn't see him slowly shake his head. Now what was going to happen to them, with the one thing to bring about the many Prophecies destroyed?

~

There was a rumble as Sesshoumaru's body shifted, stretching grotesquely, a leering grin that would have been funny if he wasn't transforming warping onto his face. The roar of power building up began to surface, soft at first, though it would crescendo to near-deafening volume. This was not good—perhaps Inuyasha had his father's sword now, but Sesshoumaru had the increasing advantage of size and the fact that the sword wasn't actually _working._

Before long, he'd transformed into an enormous dog, tongue lolling sloppily, a greedy gleam in his eyes, though one arm was shorter and shorter-furred than the others. He was also about seventy feet high at the shoulder, and his teeth had gotten longer and sharper. Definitely much sharper. 

Sesshoumaru lunged at him, fangs snapping shut on open air as Inuyasha dodged and raked his claws across his brother's sensitive nose. He recoiled with a sharp bark, then let out a growl that shook the earth and brought down a paw the size of a wagon almost on top of Inuyasha. 

Inuyasha fruitlessly swung the useless Tetsusaiga at him, frustration mounting in him. He wanted to make Sesshoumaru _pay_ for what he'd done to Kagome, and here he was with a useless piece of junk that somehow worked just for his stupid older brother! 

A weak beam of light pierced through the dust clouds that had billowed up from Sesshoumaru's movements and struck him in the side. While at first it didn't seem to have any effect, Inuyasha was amazed to see what had initially happened to the Tetsusaiga was now happening to his brother—he was being forced back into his weaker form. 

But there was only one person he knew of that could do that. Heart racing, he turned to the remnants of the village.

Kagome was sitting up, eyes shut in pain, and sporting not only several cuts and bruises but also what was definitely a broken arm, the other outstretched and shaking, but still glowing with the light of her power. She was clearly suffering from not having the jewel shard, and her scent was weak and threaded with pain and blood, but she was alive.

Kagome was _alive._

"You filthy little _bitch!"_ Sesshoumaru roared, already moving towards her. "Don't you stay _dead?!"_

_"Don't you **touch** her!"_ Somehow, he'd moved fast enough to plant himself between his older brother and the weakened Kagome. The Tetsusaiga shivered beneath his hands, then suddenly turned into the enormous blade his brother had been wielding. He stared at it, bewildered, then ignored the voice that was demanding to know what the _hell_ had just happened and charged towards his brother. He was weakened by battle now, though, and if he didn't end this quickly he wasn't going to end it at all.

Sesshoumaru hadn't lost any of his speed, and a moment later they were locked in combat, Inuyasha struggling to strike down his brother and Kagome watching through glazed eyes. The battle was still in his elder brother's favor, though, for he had no knowledge of how to draw out the Tetsusaiga's full power like Sesshoumaru could. 

In an eyeblink, Sesshoumaru had seized the hilt again and pried it from Inuyasha's aching grip, raising the blade high in preparation to unleash that catastrophic attack again. He couldn't let him do it, Inuyasha _couldn't,_ Kagome would be caught in it and weakened as she was, she wouldn't survive twice. 

He saw Miroku nearing Kagome, the Taiji-ya girl hard on his heels. _"Get Kagome away from here!"_ His voice was hoarse, but that wouldn't matter. Springing at his brother, he latched onto the human arm wielding the Tetsusaiga and forced his strength into keeping it from falling. No matter what, he couldn't let it fall—Kagome and everyone would die—he couldn't let it happen, wouldn't let them get killed—not this time—

Agony shot through him as he was impaled on Sesshoumaru's other hand, his claws' poison burning the sides of the wound. His vision blacked for a second, and he dragged in a breath, eyes blurring and every instinct screaming for him to just give up and die.

_Die…_

_Don't…let…Kagome…Die…_

Sesshoumaru pulled his arm out slowly, smirking down on Inuyasha's obvious pain. He would do worse to any survivors, and both of them knew that.

His fists somehow tightened on his brother's arm, then ripped it off, pulling out the bloody Shikon shard and clenching it tightly in one hand, the scarlet-stained sword hilt in the other. Then he fell to his knees, Tetsusaiga still at the ready, eyes blank.

Sesshoumaru took a step forward, and it was the most foolish thing he had ever done.

The dog-demon was blasted back by the same force he'd used to decimate the village, nearly kill Kagome, and claim the lives of countless others, though this was channeled directly at him, the full fury of it sweeping down on him like an unstoppable tsunami. 

When the light cleared, there was no sign of him, though what remained of Inuyasha's conscious knew that he wasn't dead. 

_"I-Inuyasha!"_

Kagome's voice cut through his mental fog like a beam of light, and his eyes cleared somewhat. He saw her fuzzy outline, mind mechanically registering that she wasn't dead. And then he collapsed, falling face-forward onto reddened ground. He wasn't fully unconscious, but he was going to need more than a nap and lots of fluids to recover from this one. Miroku's scent was drawing closer… A hand turned him over, and he forced out, "My mother…we need to get…to Tetsui…my mother can heal…give shard…Kagome…" He pulled the shard out from his robe, but that was all he could manage, hand flopping limply onto the ground.

Then everything faded into darkness. 

~

Miroku stared at the fatal—or it would be fatal for a human—wound Inuyasha was sporting and leaned heavily on his staff. Both he and Kagome needed serious help, for Kagome also had been struck by Sesshoumaru's claws and suffered the poison, which could be deeply serious.

With a sigh, he plucked the Kagome's shard from Inuyasha's palm and waved to Sango, then threw it to her. She caught it, holding onto the fainting Kagome, and put it in the younger girl's hand, though it didn't seem to help anything. Then he undid a leather thong around his neck and pulled out an odd leaf-shaped pendant, dropping it on the ground and tapping it with his staff.

There was a puff of white smoke, and out from it stepped a raccoon daemon, about four feet tall and round as an egg and clad in a jacket and trousers. "You called, Lord?" he asked nervously.

"We could use some assistance with transportation, and fast transportation at that, Tanuki," Miroku said wryly. "We need to get the poor sod here and that young lady over to the Tetsui Palace within the hour at the slowest—are you up to it?"

"What my master wishes." With another puff of smoke, the Tanuki had turned into an oblong—thing—and was looking decidedly odd, but it would have to work. 

"Lady Sango, if you don't mind?" He gestured to the Tanuki. 

"What about my village?" she demanded. "I have no intention of leaving them to fend for themselves! What if more demons attack?"

"Demons have a sense of where the Shikon Jewel is at all times, which is why they have been assaulting you and your home. If you come with us, if anything they will follow us straight into Tetsui and then be caught and killed by the guards." She didn't respond. "Please, Sango," he said quietly. "If we're set upon by demons, I alone cannot defend them, not when they are in this state. If Kagome dies—"

"She's the _Fushiginoko,_ isn't she?" Sango asked, voice strained. "The one the Prophecies foretold of."

"Didn't you see? One of her gifts is returning things to the form that she wants them to be in." He carefully levered Inuyasha onto his daemon's back. "All the omens were present at her birth—the blue star over the Tower, heatless stars falling to the ground—they were collected and still burn in the castle where the queen sleeps; and that wasn't the least of it. She silenced an entire city with only her gaze _before_ she knew of her powers."

"So she really has come," Sango breathed, looking wide-eyed down at the pale, bloodied girl she was barely holding up. 

"Will you come with us or not?" Miroku asked. "I swear to you, we _will_ return to help your village recover, but for now all we can do is lead the demons away and get these two to safety. Undoubtedly _you've_ read the entirety of the First Prophecy—when it comes down to the inevitable, neither you nor I will be the one to be in the Tower with her, it will be Inuyasha. More than either of these two know and can know hangs upon them and the reuniting of the Shikon Jewel, and the only remaining piece lies in Naraku's hands. It is of the utmost importance that we keep it so he only has one piece—so will you come with us or not?"

She didn't move for a moment, then slowly stepped forward, supporting Kagome, Kirara following at her heel. 

~

When I opened my eyes, it was the third time in my life that my head hurt that much. Also, in strange coincidence, it was relieved in the exact same manner—my shard, clutched in the same hand, sent a pulse through me, numbing my multiple aches and pains to a tolerable level.

"You're awake," a woman's voice said from somewhere nearby, a voice I only barely recognized, though I couldn't place it. 

"And wishing I wasn't," I muttered before realizing I was in someone else's house and most likely it would be in my interests to keep from shooting my mouth off. 

Fortunately, the woman laughed. I opened my eyes onto darkness, but it quickly turned to a ceiling. 

"In your position, I wouldn't want to be awake either," she said lightly. "Your injuries alone would justify the three days you've been asleep."

I sat up, finding myself in a room that was simple but not inexpensive and with a splint on one arm and bandages around the other, as well as in other places. There were dozens more bruises and scratches that had been cleaned and were on their way to healing completely, but my muscles yet protested moving after one long night of abuse and three day's worth of rest. "Three _days?"_ I couldn't believe it—here we were, trying to hunt down Naraku and stop an unstoppable war, and _I_ had been in bed for _three_ whole days?! "I don't even want to _think_ about what Inuyasha's going to say," I muttered into my hands.

"Most likely very little. He's still asleep himself—his injuries were more serious than yours, though to a half-demon your and his should be about equal. He woke up once, asked where you were, and went back to sleep." The woman speaking was seated in a chair about five feet away, watching me with dark violet eyes. Her straight black hair was tied back for the most part, though two locks framed her face. She had a regal bearing, and something about her was familiar, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it, like her voice.

"Where am I?" I finally asked, swallowing. 

"Royal Palace of Tetsui," she answered smoothly. "You were brought here after the battle for treatment of your wounds. My name is Akiko, if you were wondering. I'm Inuyasha's mother."

"Oh…I see," I said slowly, feeling remarkably dim-witted. I was face-to-face with the queen of Tetsui—me, a peasant, being treated with politeness and courtesy.

This led me to wonder where on earth Inuyasha had picked up those horrendous manners from.

"A bath is waiting in the room to your left, and clean clothes are coming," Akiko informed me, getting to her feet. "I would like to hear of your part in this story later, when you are not three steps from Death's doorway."

I blinked, then nodded, and only when she'd left did I bring myself to move. A groan escaped my lips as I forced unwilling muscles into use and staggered into the bathroom.

~

A long soak and a longer discussion with Lady Akiko, and I was feeling more like myself. We talked of my powers, of the Shikon Jewel and Fushiginoko Tower, and of other things. Of Inuyasha's father's death when he'd been twelve, of the Tetsusaiga, of what was going to happen in Tetsui now. 

His betrothal to Kikyo also came up. "His father arranged it," she informed me, rolling her eyes. "It was five years before the barrier went up around Aohoshi, and Sesshoumaru's mother had been killed. Shirome and Tetsui are the largest kingdoms, and if there was a war between them, not only would it weaken both countries but it'd fuel the other nations' economies because we'd need to buy extra supplies and soldiers from them. The assassination was set up to look like it was done by a Shiromean, but Daisuke was too smart for that. We later found it was one of his relatives, who was being bribed by the other kingdoms and who could claim the throne if Daisuke was killed after war was declared—Sesshoumaru was much too young and would have died in an 'accident' soon after. Daisuke let things simmer for a while, and then married me. Coincidentally, Kikyo and Inuyasha were born within a year of each other, and in order to keep his cousin's plan from going through he signed a non-aggression pact with Shirome and it was sealed in Kikyo and Inuyasha's betrothal. His father had the fool notion that Inuyasha would of course fall for a human like _he_ had." Akiko let out a long sigh, and then a sly smile quirked at the corner of her mouth, then vanished. "How interesting it is that he was right."

"Yeah, he's head over heels for Kikyo now, isn't he?" I asked, ignoring a sense of bitterness in the back of my head. 

"You…could say that, I suppose," Lady Akiko said, giving me an unreadable look. "My son feels responsible for her well-being—Daisuke always made sure he treated humans with respect, or at least when _he_ was watching."

I _hmphed_ to myself, recalling how _very_ respectful Inuyasha had been when I'd first met him, then changed the subject.

~

After the talk with Lady Akiko, she left to go check on Inuyasha and I went to go see how Miroku and Sango were doing. We stayed up late, discussing what courses of action might be best and what the Tetsusaiga might be capable of, but we all agreed we'd need Inuyasha's input to make any decisions. 

And of course, by the end of our little chat, Miroku was almost as bruised as he had been after the battle, though it was as if every bruise had collected in his face after it'd been slapped so many times.

As soon as I'd gone to sleep, the nightmares began.

_I saw chaos, demons, smoke. I heard screaming, felt the pain, tried to fight back and save anyone I could, but somehow I was bound. I could only run, struggling to lead a group of hollow-eyed women out, away, away from the destruction…Fire erupted on my left, teeth flashing on the right, behind lay death…_

_Then unspeakable pain as something fell with a sickening crunch, and everything blacked out._

A scream tore from my throat as I sat bolt upright, drenched in sweat, clutching the sheets with violently shaking hands. A bell rang, tolling the midnight hour.

Somehow I knew the dream was no mistake.

I pulled a robe on over my thin nightshirt and stuffed my feet into slippers, racing down the hall towards the emanation of a strange energy. My mind was numbly going over what had happened—was it a prophetic dream? Could it be a warning? Or was it a vision of something taking place? Was it my fate?

I burst through a set of double doors, only to find myself in a large stone chamber. The only items within were a plain chair in the corner and a strange fountain that loosed water from a three-foot-wide slit in the wall to fall down in a smooth sheet, crashing to a basin at the bottom. Above the fountain was a large, circular window that let moonlight in as the room's only illumination. Lady Akiko stood before that wall, and the crisp, slightly spicy scent of hithen—the herb for visions and sight beyond the ordinary—hung in the air, mingling with the cool scent of water.

She turned to me, face white, eyes huge. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

Swallowing, she covered her mouth with a trembling hand and closed her eyes, then looked up at me. A slightly chilly draft blew in from the doors, as I'd left them open.

Her dark eyes were full of shock and pain, and just as Inuyasha appeared in the open doorway, she said, voice full of disbelief, "Kikyo is…_dead."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, would you look at that. Well, I've got to get to my homework…la la la la la… 

**_You want to hear about the next chapter? Too bad. I've got a paper to write and two math assignments to do, one of which I don't have the notes for because I had to take the dumbsh%t smart kid test. You know me, now I've got my laptop I'm not exactly prone to slow updates._**

**_Oh yes, and a picture of the Fushiginoko Tower is up on my Side7 account. You can either look up my profile under JadeWing for Fanfiction.net and click on my homepage link, or go to Side7.com yourself and look up Black Lillian. It'll be under that._**

**_And thank you to the people who actually did read and review; I love you guys! (One of you mentioned this could be better than Lord of the Rings, which I very much appreciated, but it's a cold day in hell when I surpass Tolkien.) For anyone who is curious, I am going to start posting the non-IY fic version of this story on Fictionpress.net, though I'm not sure what name it'll be under, so just keep your eye out and I'll see what I can do to let you know. It might be under UnicornHalo, though I'm not sure—I'd have to get Saph's consent._**


	8. When Trouble Comes

Mirror Images

****

Chapter Seven: When Trouble Comes

__

I haven't even updated the last chapter as I write this, I'm supposed to be cleaning my room, and I've no idea how this chapter is going to play out, so don't ask me why_ exactly I'm writing this now, I really don't know._

Ah, what the heck…onward anyway! Don't own this, never have, never will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My heart pounded in my ears, the only noise besides a strange buzzing. Kikyo…_dead…_ There was no way—she couldn't be—I was supposed to _protect_ her—

Inuyasha was nowhere in sight, but I hardly noticed, fleeing down the hall once more. How could it be? She'd completely turned around, been so much nicer when we'd last spoke; she didn't deserve to be dead! Dammit, I was supposed to _protect_ her and here I was, safe in a well-guarded castle while she'd been forced into slave labor and then killed! I'd failed—I had failed Shirome, I had failed myself, I had failed Inuyasha, I had failed her family…How could I face them, knowing she had died and I'd done nothing to help her? Part of me protested that I'd called down the Shikon Jewel _only_ to help her, but it was shoved roughly aside.

Night air chilled my skin as I burst out into a courtyard and half-ran, half-stumbled over the cobblestone path, pushing open the door on the opposite wall merely by holding out my moon-scarred hand and thrusting my will at it. It opened to darkness and I staggered on through it, half-blinded by tears, my way dimly lit by a strange blue glow. 

Then I was in a large stone hall, lined in grim black marble pillars and tiled in red, white, and black stone. At the end was a large block of obsidian, at least seven feet long, three feet high, and five feet wide. Tears rolled down my face, mind slowly numbing, though my feet yet moved forward. 

It was not until I stood a few feet from the block that I realized it was a sarcophagus. Still, I was immune to any other feelings than the loss and self-loathing I was saturated in right then, so it didn't matter to me. The sense of what registered automatically as preserving magic hung around it like a shroud, and within laid a man.

He had long white hair in a braid, with a circlet ringing his forehead. His eyes were closed, and he didn't seem old enough to merit the white hair; he was robed in fine velvet and satin, a fierce and yet forgiving, regretful expression on his face. Something about him…something was very familiar…

Then I saw the inscription on the side. _King Daisuke of Tetsui. Overthrown only in death; may he rest in peace._

I was looking at Inuyasha's father.

I knelt, and, though when I look back on it I have no idea why, started to speak. "I'm sorry," I wept. "I was supposed to save Kikyo…I know Inuyasha loves her, and it's all my fault she's _dead,_ and now everyone will blame me for it…and I was trying to help, but Sesshoumaru came and we all got hurt…and I tried to kill Naraku but it broke the Jewel and now he has a shard and…everything's all wrong and it's all my fault…I'm sorry, I wish I didn't look like her, I wish I'd never been taken because I wouldn't have screwed everything up, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…It's _all my fault!"_ More and more consequences of Kikyo's death began to flood my mind. "The demons are going to raid the palace because the shields are down…everyone will know it's my fault…we can't defeat Naraku, not without her…Shirome might blame Tetsui and start a war…I _can't_ stop the war…I _can't_ do this! I wasn't _meant_ to be some high-and-mighty sorceress or prophecy child—if I _were_ I wouldn't have been born a peasant! I wouldn't be so testy and shoot my mouth off if _I_ was supposed to be big and important! _Kikyo_ was the one who was supposed to be calling down the Jewel and fighting the _real_ battles, _not_ me!"

**__**

If the gods wanted Kikyo to be the Fushiginoko_, she would be the _Fushiginoko_,_ a stern voice said. I jumped nearly about five feet, gasping, and raised my face to find an older—_much_ older—version of Inuyasha sitting in the coffin, regarding me with a wry gaze. **_As it happens, they _needed_ someone to give my son what-for and someone who was used to speaking her mind…as well as having the Ancient's blood in your veins, that helps with the magic bit too._**

I blinked. First, at complete random, I had found Inuyasha's father's grave. Now I was talking to his spirit.

This was too weird.

"Er…perhaps you could answer a few questions for me?" I asked tentatively, shocked out of my tears and my self-berating for a moment.

He leaned back, a small smile on his lips. **_Fire away, Kagome. _**

"Well…First off, how do you know my name?"

**__**

I've known you since you were born. Actually, I was waiting outside with your father while you were being born, the poor man. I think he fainted twice and then the doctor refused to let him back in the room until you were safely delivered. In fact, before you ask, yes I did know your parents, and I can't tell you anything about them except that you'll be surprised. And you'll find out soon enough. Miroku knows, but he also cannot tell you.

I swallowed. He'd known my parents… But he couldn't tell me anything about them. Biting back my frustrations, I asked, "Who are the Ancients and what was that thing about my blood?"

**__**

The Ancients were the ones that foresaw just about everything that's happened in the past month. He crossed one leg over the other, squinting into the area over my head. **_They also knew of your birth and the task you would be handed, and the strongest of them at the moment—coincidentally, their queen, Midoriko—ordered the construction of the Fushiginoko Tower for two reasons—one to have an anchor to allow her to guard her country incase of accidents like Naraku and second to have a way to get the Shikon Jewel to you without having to leave it actually in the physical realm._** He scratched his head. **_Always was a bit particular about that. Anyway, the Ancients built the Tower and sired a few children to remain behind, then left. No one knows where; they just left. Their descendants are the sorceresses and mage-priests of this time, though how the degree of their inherited power depends more on their soul and personality than on the actual lineage. You're one of them and Kikyo was another—it tends to run in royal families. _**

"What happened to Kikyo?" I asked, feeling the tears dry on my face.

King Daisuke flinched, expression growing stormy. **_Naraku,_** he muttered eventually. **_The bastard's been planning something for too long for it to be mere revenge. I can't guess what he's up to quite yet, but it's not going to be pleasant. He undoubtedly wants the Jewel—he always has and he always will until the day he dies. But he staged a raid on Multaro's castle and deliberately had her killed in the fray, though they haven't found her body yet. To her and your credit, they never realized she was the true princess. _**

My next question came after I'd managed to swallow back enough of my tears to speak coherently. "Why—why can I talk to you?"

**__**

You have a gift for returning things to the forms you want them to be in, he said seriously, watching me with the too-familiar golden eyes. **_Such as Sesshoumaru, and the Tetsusaiga. This is partially why you're the _Fushiginoko_—by the end of your jolly little adventure, you're going to need that gift. As per me, you weren't controlling yourself very well—something Akiko can help you with—and your power, er, leaked out. A lot. So even though I wasn't able to return to my physical form, my spirit's here for a little while longer. _**He grinned slightly. **_Something of a handy trick, that._**

This was a question that had been bothering me for a while: "What is it with people calling me the Fushiginoko? I thought that was the Tower."

**__**

Actually, the Tower was built strictly for you. 'Fushiginoko'_ roughly translates into 'Child of Mystery,' and what that means is that you're going to have a lot of fun with Naraku and the Shikon Jewel. That's about all I can tell you. _Then he stood, dusting his robes off. **_Now, if you'll excuse me…_**

"Where are you going?" My voice cracked pathetically, but I didn't care. He was the only distraction I had had from the guilt and the pain.

**__**

You don't need me anymore, King Daisuke said simply. **_You know it's not your fault; take my word for it. You didn't force Naraku's hand—this has been long since thought out. If anything, you've thrown a wrench in the gears. Kikyo's blood never was and never will be on your hands. There was nothing anyone could have done to prevent it—greater things are stirring, and what has been set in motion will not stop until it is complete. Kikyo did not deserve to die, but neither did many more of those killed in the raid, and Naraku is too powerful a foe to fight alone. Your part in the greater legend is only beginning._**

"That's…comforting," I said slowly, tone slightly sarcastic. Parts of it were, parts of it weren't.

**__**

You don't need me anymore, he repeated, **_so I am using what is left of my time to go to the one who does._**
    
    ~

Inuyasha flew.

He flew past the guards, past the city, and deep into the forest, where he was forced to run. And then he ran faster than he'd ever run before, until he was at least ten miles from the palace.

Then he stopped in a clearing, fell to his knees, and let out a long yell of frustration, anger, sorrow, and loss. 

It was all his fault.

He'd heckled Kagome every step of the way. He'd cost them precious time in his foolish attempt to rescue Kikyo on his own and encountered the Dark Priestess. If he had listened to Kagome in the first place, the time-lapse spell wouldn't have set in and they could have gotten her out before it had been too late to. If he'd been stronger, strong enough to defeat Sesshoumaru, they could have at least attempted a rescue with the shards of the Jewel that they had. If he had been stronger; if he had been less stubborn; if he had been less high-minded; if he had been…better. 

It was all his fault that Kikyo was dead, and nothing he could ever do would bring her back. Before his eyes, the few people he actually cared about were being picked off one by one, both times by Naraku. Every time, he could have helped them. He could have done something—anything—why was it that he never could do anything right?!

Even now, he was weak, slow, useless, unshed tears threatening to spill over. No true warrior cried; he was just weak, always weak…Anyone could kill him now, he was that vulnerable…and somehow, that didn't seem as important as, perhaps, it should have been.

The true loss hadn't even begun to set in.

He'd loved her. That in itself was undeniable. He'd loved the way her eyes had flashed when he'd goaded her, just before the steel walls slammed down firmly behind them again. He'd loved the way her hair had fallen into her eyes, like black ink running into a distant river. He'd loved to watch her doing magic, repelling any demons with ill intent, raising unbreakable shields against them. No one knew as well as he the strength she'd had in her, masked under the glacial indifference; they hadn't seen the iron determination in her stance and in her eyes whenever something large came about; they hadn't seen her falter under the weight of her enormous burden of responsibility. He had seen her in person briefly in Multaro, and when they'd had to leave her behind, but occasionally he'd stolen his mother's crystal in the three years of separation to steal a look her. He'd felt sympathy when her mother, who had only wanted her daughter to not be hurt by court gossip, had punished her unfairly and given her a verbal lashing. He'd been there with her, if only watching, when she'd taken on the task of protecting the citizens from the demons and nearly killed herself in the casting of the complex tapestry of spells. He'd watched her cry, watched her slowly build walls to block out her pain, watched her close off to the outside world, and every time he had he wanted to go to her, but couldn't. Her mother had unintentionally wrought a princess of metal and ice on the outside, but inside she was someone entirely different, someone he had fallen for.

But now both sides were gone, lost to him forever. 

A hand brushed his shoulder, solid for a moment, then passed through it, and he whirled, only to find himself looking up at an all-too-familiar face.

"She's dead," he said hoarsely. "And it's my fault. I failed you and I failed her."

King Daisuke sighed, kneeling in front of his son. **_You and Kagome are a lot more alike than you know. And it's not your fault._**

"She's dead, I'm not, and if I was any better in any way she wouldn't be," Inuyasha retorted, meanwhile thinking he was arguing with a hallucination. "Tell me how that isn't my fault!"

**__**

How about if Sesshoumaru hadn't turned out the way he had? his father suggested mildly. **_A lot of Taiji-ya people wouldn't be dead. How about if, at five years old, you had been there when Aohoshi fell, to keep it from happening in the first place? Oh, right, as a five-year-old, you couldn't do anything about it. Shit happens, Inuyasha, and blaming yourself when it's not your fault really does nothing other than stress out your companions. And I've got to tell you, Kagome's not feeling so peachy herself right now. She did exactly what you're doing, blamed herself, the whole nine yards, and it's just that she's got more common sense than you do that she's not throwing herself off of a balcony._** Daisuke paused thoughtfully. **_She really does look like Kikyo, too. Amazing… But the thing is, with this, the only way to handle it is know that it's not your fault, it's Naraku's, try not to be pissed off as much, and move on with life._**

"It's not that easy," Inuyasha said, voice dull.

**__**

Never said it was. Pay attention; I didn't raise you to be short-witted, and Kagome didn't bring back my spirit—entirely accidental, of course, but I'm here for a little while and that's what counts—merely so you could piss around and think I'm some hallucination. Which, believe me, boy, I'm not. Kikyo is gone, and the only thing you can do is get over the pain as soon as possible and go kick Naraku's ass before someone else gets put through what you're dealing with right now.

Inuyasha looked at the shadowy face of his father, into the deep eyes identical to his own, though the spirit's were cast deep in concern. It really was his father. Kagome had given him the one thing no one could: the chance to speak with his father one more time.

He gave in, letting everything out, the tears, the anger, the frustrations, the pain, until he felt empty, like the husk of Inuyasha. But it didn't bother him quite so much.

"Thank you," he finally muttered, voice shaking. "Gods…I hate myself."

**__**

There we go again with the self-depreciation, his father chided. **_But I suppose a little humbling isn't so bad. You're a good son, Inuyasha. And you're a good person, don't ever question that. Things are only going to get harder from here out._** He began to fade.

"Don't go!" Inuyasha tried to catch his father's sleeve, but his hand passed right through it. "What—what should I do now? What is it about the Tetsusaiga that wouldn't let Sesshoumaru use it? What's going to happen to Kagome—the Taiji-ya acted all weird around her, there was the Tower, and don't tell me nothing will happen because I _know _it's not true!"

**__**

Kagome will be fine, his father said, fading further. **_It's just her destiny that's happening to her. The Tetsusaiga was meant for you. And you'll know what to do when it happens._** King Daisuke was almost entirely gone now.

__

"NO!" He couldn't stop his father from leaving; he never could, and once again he was helpless.

**__**

Inuyasha—I'm proud of you. And then he had vanished entirely.

He was left kneeling in the middle of the clearing, shaking like a leaf in the wind, feeling lost and confused, the night sky reeling over him. 

Then his mind locked on one thing, and one thing only. Naraku was the cause of this. He'd brought down Aohoshi, he'd destroyed countless lives, he'd cursed all that he touched in pain and blood. He'd killed Kikyo and his father.

Fury roared up in him, but he held it in check, getting to his feet. The time to rent his clothes and tear at his hair in grieving was over; the wounds of Kikyo's death would stay with him until the day that he himself died but for the moment all he could do was avenge her and so many others. 

Inuyasha began the journey home, returning to the palace within twenty minutes. But instead of going straight to his mother or his rooms, instead he went to the Tomb of the King. It was the custom of Tetsui that the last king that had died would lay in the Tomb of the King until another came to replace him; then he was buried in the Royal Mausoleum. At the moment, it was his father who occupied the dark, solemn hall.

When he entered, though, he found someone else there: a pale figure curled beside the obsidian block, still in a nightshirt and robe, fast asleep. The marks of deep sorrow lay in her tearstained cheeks and shadows under her eyes, but she seemed less despaired than he'd expected. Then he remembered she'd brought back his father's soul for those brief moments; he'd probably managed to keep her from too much trauma. 

Inuyasha placed a hand on the crystal panel over his father's body and bowed his head, eyes closed in respect, then picked up the still-sleeping Kagome and went to find his mother. 

~

The next morning, I awoke to two things. One was the sun shining into my room. The other was Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, Lady Akiko, and a few maids jammed into my room.

I blinked, sitting up, then yanked the sheets up to my shoulders to cover my not-so-opaque nightshirt and yelped, "Does the term _'privacy'_ carry _any _meaning for you people?! Go get your kicks watching someone _else!"_

"You were glowing," Sango said slowly. "Dark blue and light blue. And you were saying things."

"Sure I was, you voyeurs," I sniffed. "If you're that bored, go try to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time or something!"

"You were," Lady Akiko said quietly. "You said something about Aohoshi, your mother, fire, and running. And your grandfather."

I looked down at the covers. "When I was four, my family was caught in a house fire, and my mother and father died. I was hit on the head by something, or so my grandfather says, and I can't remember anything before I was four."

"If you're sixteen now, then it was twelve years ago, the year when the barrier went up," Miroku pointed out. "There were a lot of Naraku's demons running around, panicking, and it's probable one of them set it."

I recalled that Miroku was supposed to know something about my parents—was that it, or was there more? But he couldn't tell me, so it was useless to ask. "That's probably it, then," I said decidedly. "Anyone got a plan of attack?"

"What?" Lady Akiko asked, startled.

"Well, Kikyo's…gone," I said with a swallow, "we don't know where Naraku is, and we need his shard of the Jewel if we're a) going to put the Shikon Jewel back together and b) kill the sorry bastard. Anyone got any suggestions?"

Sango said dryly, "I think the first move should be for you to get dressed."

I blushed. "Yes, that could be a good maneuver." When no one moved, I cleared my throat pointedly. "Look, I don't care if you insist upon watching me sleep, but there is no way I'm getting dressed in front of all of you. I'm sure Miroku would be happy enough to do a striptease if you think it's necessary, but do it _outside_ my room, if you don't mind."

Sango snorted and Lady Akiko suppressed a smile, while Miroku appeared to be considering the suggestion. Inuyasha hadn't spoken yet, but he left with Miroku being dragged by the back of the robes along with him, followed by Lady Akiko, Sango, and the maids. 

I let out a long sigh and got out of bed, rubbing my eyes.

~

When I walked into the meeting room forty-five minutes later, Lady Akiko was writing something down and Sango was explaining the battle of her village. I sat myself down and glanced at Inuyasha, who was steadily watching Sango. 

"…Kagome managed to turn Sesshoumaru back into the smaller form, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru fought some more, Sesshoumaru got the Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha kept him from using that big attack-thingy, and then he got run through on Sesshoumaru's hand, which was kinda ugly. But he got the Tetsusaiga back and used the big attack-thingy on Sesshoumaru, which was good, and then he was gone. And we took Kagome and him here after that."

"Clearly, Naraku has enough demons to risk them on a raid against a powerful sorceress and Multaro Castle," Lady Akiko said thoughtfully. "He probably also spurred many of the demons to attack your fortress after leaving Kagome, Inuyasha, and Miroku alone so that they would be taken by surprise and perhaps lose their shards in the various battles."

Miroku frowned. "Sounds like Naraku all over."

"He's most likely trying to buy some time to recover after Kagome wounded him at the Tower," Inuyasha added, still not looking at me. "He was seriously injured, and by distracting us with K-Kikyo's death, he's gathering strength."

He'd looked at everyone _but_ me. And I knew why: he couldn't.

Inuyasha couldn't take the sight of me, because I looked like Kikyo. The knowledge cut deeper than any blade. 

If I didn't look so much like Kikyo, none of this would have happened. But if it weren't for Naraku, none of us would be going through this either. Who was truly at blame? He'd destroyed Aohoshi and entrapped their queen, ruined possible hundreds, thousands of lives; I couldn't waste time in self-pity.

"If we can find him, I can kill him," I said quietly. "I _will_ kill him."

All eyes turned to me, a golden pair swiftly averted. "Don't be rash, Kagome," Sango said quickly. "Didn't Midoriko already set your task?"

"Yeah, return the Jewel to the Queen _and_ kill Naraku," I answered. "And at this point, I can't do the first without the second. But we've got to find Naraku if we're going to do anything."

"And that's where the problem lies," Lady Akiko sighed. "I can attempt to scry for his location in the Fountain of Sight as I looked for Princess Kikyo, and perhaps my crystal, but he most likely has shielded his location in case I try. In that case, my magic is not strong enough to find him."

"I can try," I said doubtfully, "but I don't know how to scry. In fact, I really have just been making up things as I go along—I never knew I had any power until a few weeks ago and I've got no training."

Lady Akiko pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then said, "I could at least attempt to teach you the basics, and scrying itself isn't difficult at all. But his shields may be beyond even your power." Sango coughed, and she said, "Or not."

"Either way, Naraku is obviously trying to kill us," Inuyasha said, speaking for only the second time. "Trouble will come to us, or we will come to it."

Miroku somberly nodded agreement. "If we can find him, though, it may help."

"Then Kagome, we should begin teaching you the fundamentals of magic," Lady Akiko said, standing. 

"Oh—right." I hastily stood, and to my embarrassment the chair fell over. Blushing, I set it upright. 

"If you'll excuse us, we should be finished by dinner time." Lady Akiko bowed, as did I, and she led me out of the room and down the hall. We passed marble statues, rich hangings, and windows showing courtyards and halls, and for the first time I realized how large the Tetsui Palace really was. Only servants and guards passed us: we were in the Royal Quarters and all nobles were forbidden here. 

Finally we reached a door that was hardly noticeable, painted the same shade as the walls and cut in a shape that was neither unusual nor obtrusive. If Inuyasha's mother hadn't stopped there, I would have continued right past it. 

She pulled a ring of keys from her robes. The one she chose was slid into the near-invisible lock and there was a flash of royal blue and a click, the door obediently sliding open. 

Inside was a table, a few chairs, a basin, a fireplace, several cupboards, and shelves upon shelves of books, jars, and bottles, some filled with liquids, some with powder, others with things I didn't recognize. The books had titles like _The Encyclopedia of Foreseeing Herbs_ and _The Advanced Guide To Summoning Elementals, _which could be either good or bad. All manners of crystals were displayed in cases along the wall, a wide mirror hung above a rack of what looked like ceremonial daggers and chains. A small mage-powered clock ticked cheerfully beside a miniature of the Fushiginoko Tower, every bit as formidable as its counterpart. A skull sat on a shelf, though I'd no idea what species its owner had been. To top it off, a vase of flowers added a homey touch from their perch in the center of the table. I leaned over to sniff one of them, and Lady Akiko caught my arm. "They bite."

"Oh," was all that I could say.

~

An hour later, I'd learned to keep my power from leaking out and doing things like hauling spirits back from the Afterlife, which was always a good thing. Because I'd already taught myself some semblance of control and how to use the magic in its most rudimentary form, it was also easier to learn. She'd explained that the herbs and crystals and whatnot were for either the more advanced Higher Magics or increasing the strength of a spell. I wouldn't need any today.

By the end of the afternoon, I could cast a barrier, work a simple healing spell, summon any of the seven elements, invest power in objects to store for later, make minor objects float, and had just mastered basic scrying. The Base Magics were used by those with smaller amounts of the Ancient's blood or by beginners like me; the Higher Magics would be the next degree of the Base Magics. I was learning this much quicker than normal people, though neither of us could tell why. Lady Akiko also taught me a way to learn spells faster, though it wasn't necessarily a shortcut because it would take quite a bit out of the user. By binding a text in string that also connected to the user, overnight the entire tome's contents could be memorized, but the consequence was that it took at least half the user's power and didn't provide actual experience using it. I opted not to risk that one for a while, or at least until a time when I could afford to drain myself halfway and when we had the time for me to practice everything I'd learned.

Lady Akiko called for a break after I'd finished learning the basic scrying, and when I looked at her questioningly, she gestured to the clock. "It's dinner time," she said wryly. "If we're going to try to find Naraku, you're going to want to eat before you use the Fountain of Sight."

"That makes sense," I said sheepishly. "I'm getting kind of tired too."

"Any other would be completely drained," she assured me. "Shall we?"

I followed her outside, then voiced a question that had been in the back of my mind for a while. "Your Highness—"

"Akiko," she interceded.

"—why treat me so…politely?" I asked. "I'm just a commoner who can throw around a few sparks and who can't keep from mouthing off. I mean, why house me in the Royal Quarters, go to the trouble of teaching me magic, and everything when I haven't done anything for you?"

She glanced at me, slightly surprised. "First of all, because peasant or no, you are still a person and every person deserves as much respect as they have earned. You, Kagome, were forced into a life-threatening situation and nearly executed for the sake of someone to whom you owed nothing. You told off my son when he was being intolerably rude, which no one has had the nerves to do since his father died, and yet you saved his life without a second thought. You risked life-long slavery to help a princess who had done nothing for you. You traveled to an unknown place and learned how to fight in order to retrieve something you had no intention of using for yourself, also putting your life in jeopardy again. You fought the most powerful demon lord known and nearly destroyed him without a trace of fear. You fought countless demons in the Taiji-ya village, put yourself through near-torture so my son would be relieved of pain, sacrificed your own safety to keep Tetsusaiga's Cutting Wind from slaughtering the rest of the village and demolishing their town, and repeatedly forced a full dog-demon of the Royal House of Tetsui back, whether it was by returning the Tetsusaiga to normal or him himself. You pulled yourself back together after Kikyo's death. And none of your actions have been done in self-interest. _That,_ Kagome, merits more respect than it is possible for me to give." She shrugged. "And, as always, there is more to you than any of us our blessed enough to know. I do not consider it wise to mistreat the _Fushiginoko."_

I was, for once, utterly speechless. The way Lady Akiko was saying it made me look like a hero, but all I was doing was what seemed like the right thing. I was a commoner, and Shirome had plenty of those to spare, but there had been only one Princess Kikyo. And I wasn't going to sit around and watch Inuyasha be gutted in front of my eyes, so what? It was what anyone else would've done for me. "I don't see—I'm no knight in shining armor, Your—Lady Akiko," I managed after a moment. That had been Kikyo's job: to be the Shining One or Savior of the World or whatever. People like me weren't meant to be heroes, and frankly, I didn't want to be. Heroes had a sad tendency to be possessed by evil and slay their families, or to be exiled, or to have their loved ones die horrible, painful deaths. _As if_ I _want that for my family,_ I thought dryly.

A small smile emerged, and she looked straight ahead as we walked down the corridor. "Like it or not, Kagome, your destiny is already playing out. The shining armor doesn't make the knight, and the bloodlines don't make the prophecy child. It's what you do with what you've got, and how you do it. That's what counts." Abruptly, she changed the subject. "What do you think of my son?"

I kept myself from flinching and said with a straight face, "Honest opinion or diplomatic?"

At that, Lady Akiko laughed, the sound echoing up and down the hallway. "If you need to ask that question, perhaps I should be worried," she said mirthfully. "Honest, please."

I turned and set my palms on a windowsill, thinking out my response for once as I studied the clouds beyond the glass. "He's…guarded," I said finally. "I know he's not nearly as tough as he makes himself out to be, but if you even mention one of his weak spots he clams up. I know he loved Kikyo, and I don't blame him, but he can't look at me anymore and that bothers me." I blinked. "No, it hurts me. Because I care about him, and I don't want him to be hurt, but I can't do anything about having the face of a dead woman. He tries to be strong, and he hates any weaknesses of his, even though everyone has a weakness. He's afraid of losing people like his father, so he pushes them away—I could tell he didn't want to get hurt a long time ago, but I didn't know why until the day I called down the Jewel. He won't let himself get close to someone if he can help it, but him and Kikyo…This was the worst thing that could happen to him, her death—another reason to blame his weaknesses, another reason to keep from getting attached to anyone. It's part of why I want to kill Naraku—I don't want that bastard hurting Inuyasha anymore. I…don't know why."

Unbeknownst to me, Lady Akiko was watching me with the barest hint of a triumphant grin, but when I turned to look at her it was turned instantly blank. "And how long have you been traveling with him?" she asked mildly.

I thought for a moment, tallying up the days. "This is the fifteenth day since we met," I said.

Lady Akiko shook her head, a hint of a grin appearing and vanishing. "You're much more perceptive than most girls your age."

"I hope that's a good thing," I said darkly.

"Oh, it is," she said cheerfully. "It is." We reached the meeting room, which I assumed was doubling as the dining room for now, and I followed her inside. Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha were in there, talking about the Tetsusaiga. Sango waved at us and Miroku rose with a greeting and a smile, but Inuyasha looked away and I bit my lip. Seeing my face, Sango followed my gaze to the prince and frowned, but didn't comment. 

"How goes the training?" Miroku asked cordially. 

"She's picked up on it faster than anyone I've ever taught before," Lady Akiko replied with a smile as I blushed, embarrassed. "We're going to scry for Naraku's location in a little while."

"Scrying already?" His voice was incredulous. "By the gods, Kagome!"

"What?" I shrugged. "It's not like it's hard or anything."

He rubbed his forehead in response, just as servants came in with the meal. I took the seat next to Sango and across from Miroku, mainly so Inuyasha wouldn't have to look at me. Before we could begin, though, Lady Akiko said, "I would like to test something. Would someone mind giving their Shikon shard to me?" After a moment, Sango nodded and handed hers to Lady Akiko, sweat breaking out on her face. Inuyasha's mother glanced at the shard and at Sango, then hastily handed it back, and stared at the tabletop, deep in thought. After a pause, she said, "It is as I thought."

"What were you trying to find out?" Sango inquired, slipping her shard back into the small pouch she wore around her neck.

"I was wondering why it was painful for any of you to be separated from your shard," she said thoughtfully, "and now I know why. The shard pulls on your life force, as if it has become part of your body, like a finger or an eye. To remove it from you is like having that part of you cut off, and you literally bleed life force, however gruesome that sounds. Because Inuyasha's was infused with his life force, though, when Sesshoumaru used it, it fooled the Tetsusaiga into thinking _he_ was Inuyasha. My guess is, depending on the circumstances and the person, if you were permanently separated from your shard it would take anywhere from three days to one week to live, unaided. If someone could transfuse live force, it might or might not prolong death. I'm assuming, though, that once the Jewel is completed again, this problem will go away."

"One can only hope," Miroku said. There was silence as we all wondered how everything was going to play out, particularly if we couldn't survive without the Jewel shards even after it was formed. What were we going to do then, all walk around holding onto it? I suppressed a morose sigh and would have suggested we eat dinner when I was…well, distracted.

My senses had picked up on something small, but I'd figured it was a lesser demon or something. Now it drew closer, and the lights in the room dimmed.

There was a pop, and a silly-looking blue blob appeared, hovering over the table. "Give…me the shards…of the Jewel," it said in what was supposed to be a threatening voice but didn't really do it.

"What the _hell?"_ Inuyasha flicked it with a finger.

There was a yelp, and it turned into a small boy with a large, fluffy tail. He scowled at Inuyasha, but his eyes quickly turned to me and the shard around my neck. "That's _huge,"_ he said slowly.

Then, quick as a fox, he'd seized it and run out the door. A shudder ran down my back and the pain began to build up. 

"That little _brat!"_ Inuyasha knocked over his chair in his haste to follow him, and I staggered to my feet. Cursing came from the hall, and he called back to us, "The damn kitsune's gone!"

Lady Akiko ordered one of the servants to get her seeing crystal and stood, closing her eyes. "He's hiding himself, but he's still in the palace," she said. "I'll put barriers up, and he won't be able to get out."

"We have to find him, and fast," Sango said, watching my graying face with growing worry.

"Let's split up," I suggested. "We can cover more of the castle that way, and if we don't find him before Lady Akiko does, she can tell us and we can go get him."

"Sounds fine, as long as you stay here," Miroku said dryly.

"It's my shard," I argued. "If anyone can sense it, I can."

"But if you pass out in the middle of the hallway, no one will know," Sango said pointedly.

"Sure they will. Sooner or later, a servant will find me." I walked out of the meeting room, trying to keep myself from stumbling. "I'll be fine, anyway. You know me—I don't do anything stupid."

This was met by coughs from Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha. I sighed and set off down the hallway, trying to sense for the Jewel.

Fifteen minutes later, I was barely walking, but the shard was close. The last person I'd passed had been a way back and the wing I was in seemed almost abandoned. Turning a corner, I found myself in a roofed courtyard, a bedraggled garden lying beyond on pillared wall. On the edge of a long-dry fountain, the little boy sat, staring thoughtfully at the shard in his hands.

"Can I have that back, please?" I asked, voice a bit weak. He jumped in surprise, but before he could vanish, I added, "It hurts to not have it…and I'll die if I don't get it back…so…yeah." The darkness overcame me, and I pitched forward onto the flagstones.

When I woke up, the pain had vanished, and the little boy was sitting on my stomach, watching me with electric blue eyes. "What's your name?" he asked curiously, scrambling off.

"Kagome." I sat up with a wheeze. "What's yours? And what did you want my shard for?"

"My name is Shippô, and I needed it." He crossed his arms.

"You needed it?" I also crossed my arms. "Why? And do your parents know where you are?"

His chin shook for a moment, but he swallowed and said, "Ma and Pa are dead. I…I'm not strong enough to avenge them, an' everyone says the Shikon Jewel's real powerful, so I thought that if I had a shard I could use it to draw out their killers and then get them."

I raised my eyebrows. "Couldn't you just ask for help?"

"I did." He looked down, unhappy, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "The guards laughed at me."

I reminded myself to bring that up with Inuyasha—no, he was still not looking at me, better to make it Lady Akiko—and said, "Well, my friends and I can help you with that."

"You can?" he sniffed. "But the Thunder Brothers are powerful demons."

"And Inuyasha's a powerful half-demon, Miroku and I are powerful mages, and Sango's a powerful warrior," I said cheerfully. "I think we can take them."

Still, Shippô looked doubtful. "They killed both of my parents, and they were really strong."

"I wouldn't worry. Come on, let's go back." I stood up and so did he, but before we could head back, there was a booming thud behind us.  
I whirled around to find an ugly, vaguely humanoid demon behind us. He was bald as an egg except for three short hairs on the top of his head and a small braid at the back. His eyes were slanted, the pupils nothing more than black slits; he was decked out in old-fashioned armor with a strange pelt wrapped around his waist.

"I _thought_ I sensed a fragment of the Shikon Jewel," he said, voice like a roll of thunder.

"That's Manten! That's one of the Thunder Brothers!" Shippô hid behind my legs.

"I don't care what you sensed, you're not getting anything from me," I shot out, shifting to protect Shippô. 

"You underestimate me, little girl." He grinned, showing long, sharp teeth. "I eat little morsels like you for lunch."

"No," I said, summoning power to my palms, "trust me, you don't." I let power fly in the form of three dagger-like lights. One struck his armor, cracking it, another piercing his snout, and the third grazed his head. 

It was the third one that screwed me over.

Apparently, he had a deep attachment to those three hairs. Also apparently, the third dagger had neatly sheared two of them off.

The next thing I knew, lightning was swelling up in his mouth. Shippô tugged at my leg, eyes wide and frantic. "Come on! This is the attack that killed my Pa!"

I didn't ask questions; instead, I turned and ran. I only made it to the wall when there was a huge explosion behind me, though, and I was thrown forward. Everything went black.

~

Shippô was sent flying head-over-tail into the hallway, but he scrambled to his feet as soon as he could and darted behind a pillar, peering out with wide blue eyes.

Manten lumbered over, eyes furious, but he stopped at the sight of Kagome. Cold dread gripped his heart, and to his horror, the larger demon grinned and picked the girl up. A dark cloud bloomed around his feet, surrounding them, and a moment later it faded, taking both of them with it.

Kagome had tried to protect him, and he'd turned tail and hid. Now Manten had her, and he was going to eat her probably.

What could he do?

She'd said her friends were strong, but would they be strong enough to fight the Thunder Brothers? Standing around wasn't going to answer that question…

Shippô took a deep breath, then skittered down the hallway. If he couldn't get help soon, Kagome was going to be on the main menu…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Ooh, that does_ sound like fun. Death, pain, blood—whee! ::snifflesnifflesnortsnorthackhack:: Curse this cold…I've had a headache, sore throat, and sniffles for two days now, but at least I got to miss school today and get the last few pages done. It's taking longer than normal to write chapters because at the same time I'm a) drawing a comic book and b) trying to both rewrite the first two chapters of Mirror Images so they're in my voice, and simultaneously overhaul all previous chapters of this story so it doesn't seem like a total IY rip-off. So far, I definitely like the way it's coming out—in the original version, the Kagome figure is named Aidan and there are definite differences between Kagome and Aidan. Aidan's major fault is that she has no trouble expressing her opinions. With great frequency. (This translates into 'she mouths off to anyone and everyone, royalty included'.) Miroku's figure (Keir) doesn't feel up all the women he comes across, but he is a bit…okay, a lot of a flirt. But it's the thought that counts. I won't be able to post the original version until after this is finished, and even then I'll have to take this version down, or else it'll be a violation of Fanfiction/FictionPress.net policy. I don't know when the next chapter will be coming out, but maybe sometime soon if I'm lucky. Adiosity for now!_


	9. To Take Sides

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Mirror Images

Chapter Eight: To Take Sides

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::yaaaaawn:: Gar, I feel like absolute shit right now. Or shit on a stick. And I have to do my homework. I just updated yesterday (Tuesday the 25th) and so far I've gotteneight reviews, actually. This is more than usual, so I'm happy. Still stuck at home, but hopefully if I thoroughly dope myself up on Tylenol Sinus and Advil I'll be able to make it to school tomorrow. Waitcan I take both of those at the same time without going into hallucinations? 

Lesson of the day, kiddies: Don't do drugs. I already learned my _lesson from Dumbo and the pink elephants._

Oh yes, and Ithwel—Ithen—Iweth—screw it, Ith-person, you know who you are—brought up the point that Kagome was turning omnipotent. One of my friends also pointed out that Inuyasha was getting somewhatwell, for lack of a better word, useless. This seems to be a running problem with my stories, where the female lead turns into a demigod, practically, and it's something I'm going to work on. Don't worry, Kagome doesn't win on a one-woman team. Inuyasha gets in more shredding than an Enron accountant in this chapter.

Oh yeah—here's a bit from the original version of this story. Aidan=Kagome, Caelan=Inuyasha, Caelan is half-changeling, which means he turns full human at night and full changeling by day (he's also a dragon changeling! He turns into a dragon when he wants to! Squee!) and Aidan (her character's quite a bit different from Kagome's: she can be insensitive and has a tendency to mouth off) has just found out that he turns human at night.

It all made sense—changeling by day, human by night. Of course, I wouldn't want to be in his position myself, but it did explain some things. "So you're a human at night," I said finally, trying to sound casual. "It's not like some unforgivable sin."

He vanished into the trees again. "You don't understand. I'm _weaker_ like this."

"You're just on the same level as any other human," I replied shortly. "If most of the continent's population can handle it, then you really shouldn't have a problem." I stood up and dusted myself off. "Are you planning on staying up there for the rest of the night? Being in a tree really doesn't help anything, and I can't learn to knife-fight on my own."

There was no response, but nevertheless, he dropped to the ground again and walked over. "You didn't get scared when you were about to be executed, you didn't get scared when I nearly killed you, you don't get scared when you find out that I'm human at night and we're that much more vulnerable—is there anything you _do_ get scared by?"

I shrugged casually. "Clowns."

He rolled his eyes but drew his dirk anyway. "Alright, let's see how bad you are."

**__**

^^ What do you think? I like that bit myself, along with when Miroku's character first comes and the situation between him and Caelan is described as "He obviously enjoyed goading Caelan, and Caelan was being about as friendly to him as a pit of rattlesnakes."

Anyway, on with the fic. Standard disclaimer: I don't own this.

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Something wasn't quite right. Inuyasha didn't know exactly what it was, but it was definitely not right. 

He'd seen neither hide nor hair of the stupid kitsune that had stolen Kagome's shard, and he'd been wandering around for near twenty minutes now. Hopefully, Kagome hadn't passed out yet, but she'd been bound and determined to go looking for the brat herself. Maybe she was having more luck than he was, but he doubted it.

Turning a corner, his nose caught the fox-demon scent as his eyes locked on something sitting on a windowsill over a bench. It looked like a small stone charm or somethinghe picked it up.

Instantly, it turned into a squat, heavy, silly-looking statue of one of the demigods. Before he could start swearing, a small hand slapped a scroll on it, and he found he couldn't lift his hands from underneath it.

"If you promise not to hit me, I'll let you go and tell you what happened to Kagome," came a high-pitched voice. Inuyasha looked up to find the little boy standing on the bench, looking like it had taken every scrap of courage he had just to say that.

"How about you let me go if I promise to make your death quick and painless, brat?" He snarled.

The kit quavered for a moment, but then he set his jaw said firmly, "My name is Shippô, not brat, and you have to promise not to hit me."

"Fine, fine, I promise!" growled Inuyasha.

Shippô removed the scroll, the statue returned to its normal size, and for his pains he was promptly swatted. Several times.

"You promised!" he wailed, nursing a bouquet of bumps on his head as the hanyou got to his feet. Unfortunately, Inuyasha wasn't done yet, seizing him by the front of his robe and hauling him to be on eye level. _His_ eye level, which meant Shippô was dangling about five feet from the ground.

"What happened to Kagome?" The look in the half-demon prince's eyes said he wasn't in the mood to play games.

"M-Manten!" Shippô squeaked. "Manten from the Thunder Brothers! I gave the shard back to her an' Manten showed up, an' he knocked her out and just kidnapped her, five minutes ago!"

Inuyasha froze, then said threateningly, "You're lying."

"No!" Shippô twisted, trying to get free. "He did! You have to help her!"

Inuyasha let him go, heart falling. Kagomegone? He'd heard of the Thunder Brothers—they were outlaws, infamous for abducting pretty young girls. Only one had escaped and lived to tell about them, only one out of dozens, possibly hundreds. They were too well known in every country for their strength and elusiveness—no one who went to find them came back alive. And now they had Kagome, his Kagome.

Slowly he turned around and began walking back to the meeting room, only to break into a sprint as it sank in. Manten liked eating the girls, rumor said. Hitenliked something else. And Kagome was in their hands. How much time did he have before she got hurt?

He ran into Miroku on his way back and seized him by the arm, offering no explanations as he hauled him down the hallway. It was a highly unique scene: the teenage hanyou running through the palace of Tetsui, dragging a strongly protesting and bewildered monk behind him, a little boy with a foxtail bigger than he was following after, looking distressed and doing his best to keep up. In fact, when they passed Sango, she thought it was very strange and came with them too, but she didn't have to wait as long as the hapless Miroku for an explanation.

They reached the meeting room and Inuyasha released the priest as his mother looked up, confused. "The Thunder Brothers have Kagome," he said, voice taut with fury and hidden concern. 

This had an immediate effect on everyone in the room but Shippô and Inuyasha; Sango paled, Miroku's eyes widened, and the blood drained out of his mother's face. "What about her magic?" Sango whispered. "Can't she hold them off until we get there?"

Lady Akiko was the one to answer, slowly shaking her head. "They mostly take girls with magic, and for one reason," she said, voice numb. She was the only one who had escaped—for her, the news had spread fast enough for Daisuke to challenge them before she was dead, allowing her to get out. "They—they've got chains, chains that block magic. They like to see girls who rely on magic be completely helpless. Her bow and arrows—"

"Are in her room," Sango finished. "But she was wearing her daggers."

"Even if they didn't take them from her, it'll take more than two daggers to fight them and live," Miroku said grimly.

There was silence, and then Inuyasha said, tone unreadable, "Sango, get Kirara. Miroku, you go with Sango. Be ready to fight. Shippô, you come with me, and we'll meet you at the drawbridge in ten minutes."

"What—"

"Don't ask questions, just _do_ it." Picking Shippô up by the back of his furry vest, he strode out the door and down the hallway. 

Miroku and Sango looked at each other, then at the doorway, and shrugged. "Give me a few minutes to armor up," Sango said, leaving. 

~

Inuyasha was running down the hall once more, which seemed to be becoming something of the norm for him. Shippô was clinging to his shoulder, and after a moment, he asked tremulously, "Where are we going?"

"I'm following Kagome's scent," he replied shortly. "When I get to where she was kidnapped from, I can memorize that bastard Manten's scent, and we can track him."

Shippô nodded and held on as best he could.

~

A single, dim beam of light pierced the gloom of the cell, streaming in from a small chink in the opposite wall like a shaft of sunlight in still water. It was the only thing to alleviate the blackness. Cold stone formed the walls of my prison, slathered in dark, sticky mold that let off a dank smell that, combined with the rotten-egg stench of sulfur, made every inhalation all but painful. An iron door was on my right, with a tiny grate that was currently covered near the top. My arms and shoulders were in an agony, being twisted behind me and chained to the wall; my knees were cramping from having to kneel for an unknown length of time.

All this I noticed as my eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the darkness. The shackles of the chains chafed at my wrists as I twisted, and I flinched, trying to raise my arms a bit higher so they wouldn't be pulled on quite so much. There wasn't enough slack on the chains for me to stand or even shift into a sitting position rather than stay kneeling. Gritting my teeth, I tried to remember what had happened—there was Shippô, and thenthat monsterthe explosion, and everything had gone black. 

Well, that didn't tell me much. Either Inuyasha was mad at me for getting hit in the explosion and had thrown me in the dungeons, which didn't seem likely—yes, fie on me for being in an accident! Fie! Fie!—or someone else, probably Manten, had found and kidnapped me, though for what reasons I had no idea.

In fact, I couldn't even see my cell that well: an almost complete lack of light had that kind of effect. Closing my eyes, I reached within me to summon a light, but was thrown back from my power by a shield of darkness and iron. 

They'd blocked me from my magic.

I tried again, fear starting to grow in me, but to no result. My Shikon shard was hidden under my shirt again, but useless. If I couldn't use my magic, I didn't know how I was going to defend myself. My bow and arrows were back at the palace, and with my arms chained, I couldn't reach my daggers except for perhaps with some very challenging acrobatics that I most definitely could not manage. I couldn't even see if I still had them, and even if I did, I still wasn't the epitome of knife fighters. The best I'd ever done was when I'd been possessed, and since then, I hadn't gotten much better than before, partially given the fact that I'd been engaged in battles, grieving, and magical education almost every waking hour after calling down the Shikon Jewel.

I was defenseless, chained to a wall in a dungeon that smelled about as pleasant as a heap of manure, and my captor was obviously not the sunshine-and-daisies kind of person. In fact, it could very well be Naraku. I'd thought that the ride to Tuzaki, where I'd been in the miserable hole they called the cargo compartment and kneeling in my own vomit, was the low point in my life, but this was starting to rival that. No one could possibly know where I was, except maybe Shippô, and he'd probably been hit in the explosion and/or captured as well. Even if I could figure out a way to get out of the binding on my powers, where would I go? It wasn't likely that they'd go to the trouble of putting me in a cell, chaining me to a wall, and restricting my magic, only to forget to lock the door.

A patch of light appeared, voices coming through the grate, and I looked up. "This what you wanted?" That was the rumble of Manten's voice.

"Well, she's a looker, so if you don't want her, I'll take her," another voice said cheerfully, one I didn't recognize. "She looks like she'd be fun to_play_ with."

"More fun to eat," Manten muttered. "A little Teriyaki here, some cabbage on the side"

I blinked, astonished, and nearly burst into hysterical laughter, an indication of how truly afraid I was. My _kidnappers_ couldn't decide whether to rape me or to eat me! Gee, which one would I choose?

"I am afraid I cannot allow you to eat her," a cold, calculated voice said, speaking for the first time. "Not yet."

I found myself having a bit of a difficult time breathing. I knew that voice. I knew it too well.

"Open the door, Hiten." There was a click, a grate, and more light spread over the cell from the doorway, though a shadow stood in the middle. 

I started to shake but willed the tremors to stop: he wasn't going to get the best of me, not if I could help it. Footsteps came closer, halting right in front of me, and slowly I looked up into the eyes of Naraku. 

Somehow, my old ways of insulting my current antagonist returned. "You're looking lovely," I said sarcastically. "Is that a new monkey skin?"

He threw the baboon cape aside, watching me with cold eyes, and I studied his face, trying to memorize it in case I lived through this andhappened to run into him in the market? Not likely, but I might as well anyway. "That's a pretty shade of eye shadow," I added. "You know, my friends and I all admire your classic feminine beauty."

"You talk bravely for someone in your position," he said, voice eerily devoid of any emotion. Then he leaned forward until our faces were less than a foot apart, red eyes boring into mine, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "I like that in a woman."

I couldn't lean any further away without dislocating my shoulders, so instead I settled for my standard response and spat in his face.

He didn't blink, didn't hit me, didn't react other than slowly reaching up, wiping it onto one delicate finger, and licking it off. Then he reached out with his other hand and grasped my chin, his long, sharpened nails digging into my skin. "Oh, dear Kagome," he purred. "We're going to have _lots_ of fun."

~

The thoughts running through Inuyasha's head were none too happy as he led the band through a wasteland that had Manten and Kagome's scent, and it was no surprise. Kagome had been the first person who hadn't cared that he was an accident, a freak. She'd fought at his side without hesitation, and brought back his father when he needed him the most. She'd shown him another side to the world, one where not everyone hated him; she'd saved his life several times, asking nothing in return. She was the only person he really, truly considered a friend.

As he launched from rock to rock, fists clenching unconsciously, that annoying voice reminded him that it was appearing that he didn't quite consider her as a friend, if the way he was reacting to her kidnapping said anything. 

Scowling, he brushed that aside, landing on the other side of a ravine with a thud. Sango, Miroku, and Kirara were right behind him, Shippô still riding with him, though clinging to his head this time.

Kagome's scent grew stronger, more recent, and his heart gave a lurch. He couldn't let anything happen to her, or he'd never forgive himself. He'd lost Kikyo; he wasn't going to lose Kagome. The thought of either of the Thunder Bastards laying so much as a finger on her

Distracted, he didn't see the trap until it was too late. His foot touched down on the rocky protrusion, and jaws of steel shot up, clamping onto his ankle. Luckily, his flesh was tougher than that and it had caught on the bone instead of muscle, so it didn't draw any blood, though it would have severed the leg of a human. Before he could spit out a word Shippô shouldn't have heard, a crackle caught his ear. He pulled the little fox demon free from his perch and pushed him away just in time.

Lightning snaked up the metal trap, then sizzled up, surrounding him in electricity that both burnt and froze wherever it came in contact with him. He cried out, wound in the blue-white ropes, and then it faded, leaving him gasping for breath and marked in burns on his arms and neck.

"Inuyasha!" Sango guided Kirara closer. "Are you all right?!"

"Fine," he said after a moment.

Miroku jumped down from the daemon's back as Inuyasha pulled the trap off of his foot and cautiously took it from the half-demon. "Well, nothing says welcome to our humble abode' like attempting to electrocute your visitors. Keep an eye out for more of those, Inuyasha."

He nodded, shaking himself a bit, and frowned at the rapidly healing burns on his arm. "Come on, short stuff," he barked to Shippô. The kitsune jumped back onto his head, and they took off again.

Kagome's scent took them down into a valley, the foliage long gone, the stone sides steep and marked with long, black streaks. It was more of a canyon than a valley, in fact, the way between the rock walls about fifty feet wide. Overhead, clouds were gathering, the sky beginning to darken—it was close to sunset. Inuyasha found himself glad tonight was not the night of the new moon.

They were about a mile into the canyon when Miroku said suddenly, "We're being followed."

"What?" Inuyasha stopped and turned around, to find the monk sitting on Kirara's back, eyes narrowed. 

His grip tightened on his staff. "Demons. Ten, twenty, maybe more. Not very strong, but a lot of them." Miroku's eyes widened, and he added, "Not just behind us but in front, too. We're trapped."

On either side of the canyon, centipedes, snakes, mantises, spiders, hyenas, vultures, ogres, goblins—demons of almost every kind were lining up. Squeals and cries echoed from beyond a bend in the narrow way ahead of them; Inuyasha's ears caught more from behind. They were surrounded.

Sango slowly unhitched the boomerang, while Miroku's fingers moved towards the beads around his right hand. The demons began to move in.

"Hold on," Inuyasha warned Shippô, and drew the Tetsusaiga. They didn't look like a welcoming committee, that was for sure, and he didn't have the time to spare, so there was no point in wasting time waiting for them to make the first move. "Don't try to fight all of them," he called quietly to Sango and Miroku. "Just concentrate on getting out of the valley."

They nodded just as a serpent sprang at Sango. She let Hiraikotsu fly, and it cleaved the demon in half. With bloodlust in their screams, the rest charged forward.

~

I glowered at Naraku, blood slowly dripping down the side of my face from a cut on my temple. He couldn't break me. He _couldn't._

"No one cares about you," he hissed, face inches from mine. "They haven't even noticed you're gone. Your grandfather and your little brother are even doing better—they aren't getting harassed, now that there isn't a _witch_ in their house. You get everyone around you into trouble—of course they're glad you're gone."

I tried to twist away, but I was chained too tightly to move my limbs. My arms ached fiercely, being shackled over my head, but I wasn't going to give in. I took a page from Inuyasha's vocabulary book. "Eat shit and die, you bastard."

"Harsh words, Kagome." He took a step back, then another, and I momentarily closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. Then he picked up and knife and gently fingered the razor sharp blade, taking care not to cut himself. "Harsh, and unseemly for a young lady. It seems I must teach you some courtesy." He walked over, setting the blade against the inside my right upper arm, about four inches from my elbow. "What's the magic word, Kagome?"

I responded with a rude suggestion.

"Wrong answer." The knife stabbed into my arm and I cried out, more sweat rolling down my face. It hurt even more when he slowly pulled it out. "You need to learn manners and respect, and it seems I will be the one schooling you in them." Suddenly, he switched tactics. "Why don't you join me, Kagome?"

"Well, let's see," I forced out through bleeding lips. He was going to hurt me, no matter what I said, so I refused to speak with any sort of respect. "There's the whole not evil' thing, first of all."

"Oh, do be reasonable." His voice was smooth, even soothing "In the end, what I do will help. You've got it all wrong, dear Kagome. I'm _helping_ you and everyone else, they just don't know it yet. In the end, they'll all be thanking me. Kikyo and I had similar goals—we want to _help_ people, not hurt them."

"You killed Kikyo," I said dizzily. At this point, I had the cut on my temple, blood coming from where I'd bitten through my lower lip, burns on my now-bare stomach—the iron he'd used had singed away the cloth, though my chest was thankfully still covered— I could hardly see out of my left eye, and two of my fingers were broken. A red streak was creeping down my side from the gash in my upper arm now. The pain was hazing everything, making it hard to think

"That's another lie they told you, Kagome," he said, voice low and sweet. "I was there, trying to _keep_ her from being killed. It's all a misunderstanding. _They_ wanted you turned against me so _they_ could have the power of the Shikon Jewel for themselves."

"Whothey'?" My mind was lost, confusedwhat was he saying?

"The people who have been lying to you all along." A clammy hand was laid along my cheek. "You can make them pay, little one. They can pay for tricking you, deceiving you like they did."

"Tell mewho they are" I gasped out.

"People like Akiko and Midoriko." After a moment, he said, "People like Inuyasha."

There was a strange buzzing noise in my ears as I stared at the wall, dead eyes widening a little.

__

"He's the reason my father is dead."

ﾒApproached my what?!"

__

ﾒDon't you **touch **her!"

"You've lost it, haven't you? Hearing voices? Seeing the magical troll yet?"

"Screw you. I don't need your help."

"Get Kagome away from here!"

"I get it. You're going to walk in, find Kikyo, and walk out, is that it?"

"You'd better spit out where Kikyo is or I don't care who or what you are, I'll rip you in half!"

"You smell worse than she does. Maybe you're telling the truth."

"You just lit up like a burning squirrel and you expect me to believe you're not_ Kikyo?"_

"Helied to me?"

Naraku watched the shock and horror on my face with glee. "Yes, yes he did. Many times."

"A-After all we've g-gone through t-t-tog-gether" I stammered.

"He's been lying to you all along," he said.

"You're right," I said dully. "You're right. I'll join you."

He smiled, which was even more frightening than when he was angry. "That's a good girl. You just had to hear the truth. Let her down, Hiten." The growling older brother roughly freed my arms, though they remained bound, as did my power. "We won't let you go just yet," Naraku said lightly. "You're very hurt, see, and if you go off using that magic of yours you'll just take strength away from your recovery." I nodded mutely. "Now, come outside with me. If your anyone comes to take you away from us, we can see them from a long ways away." He took my arm and steered me out onto a balcony, and I saw we were in a large castle, on the top of what could either be a small mountain or a large hill. The foliage was sparse, if there was any, and before us was spread a wasteland of barren hills and craggy peaks.

"Look!" One slender finger pointed to a canyon far below, perhaps a mile away from the base of the mountain. A cloud of dust rose from about three quarters of the way, and I blinked, confused. "Here." He handed me a spyglass, and I peered through it.

Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku and Shippô were down there, surrounded by demons and all fighting fiercely. They were outnumbered—four to thirty, it seemed—and though I had no doubt in their battle skills, even they would have a difficult time winning against so many.

"Your former friends come to steal you from me, but this is a battle that they will not come lightly from," Naraku said casually. "Any of them may die."

I handed the spyglass back to him, knowing he was watching my stony face for any hint of concern towards them. "Good."

~

Miroku covered the hole in his hand, breathing hard. Only a few demons were left, ones the others could easily defeat, but for the moment he was out of commission until the demonic energy he'd absorbed was purified from his system. 

Inuyasha sliced through a weasel-lizard, then a wingless fly, and looked around for his next foe but found none. The battle was over.

"Come on," he barked, not even cleaning Tetsusaiga before he sheathed it. "We're almost out of the valley now." Shippô hopped onto his head again and Sango and Miroku mounted Kirara, and they continued on.

Five minutes later, they'd emerged, only to find their destination a little ways ahead of them. It was an elaborate castle perched on a plateau, the sides steep and barren, and getting up there without attracting attention would be a bit tricky.

Soon, though, attention was the least of their worries. "Shippô," Inuyasha said slowly, "was Kagome hurt when she was kidnapped? Bleeding?"

"No." The little fox climbed down to Inuyasha's shoulder.

Inuyasha tensed, then inhaled again. 

Miroku later would describe the expression on Inuyasha's face then as KILL. KILL. KILL.' Inuyasha's fists clenched until blood stained his claws, but he didn't care. "What is it?" Miroku asked.

"Blood," he said, voice dead quiet with fury. "Naraku, and Kagome's blood. _That god-damn bastard spilled Kagome's blood!"_ He could smell burns, sweat, fear, pain, deception His nose painted a horrifying scene from the strength and variances in her blood, showing him every wound inflicted on her, and none could be from fighting, they were all too precise.

Naraku had gotten Manten to kidnap Kagome, and then he'd tortured her. 

This was beyond anything he'd done before. It had surpassed unforgivable; there was nothing he could do to Naraku that would be enough.

Voices floated down, caught in his sensitive ears. "Why, dear Kagome?" That was Naraku, his chill voice unmistakable, and the very sound made his every muscle tense in anger.

The next voice chilled his very soul—not because of the owner, but because of the tone. "Loose my chains, Lord. I want to kill them."

There was a cold laugh. "We don't want you to overexert yourself, little one. Your time will come."

"What did he do to her?" Inuyasha was drawing ever nearer to losing control. "What did that bastard _do_ to her?"

They didn't have time to sit around and wonder about it, though. "Come on!" Crouching for a moment, he rocketed into the air, springing from narrow ledge to narrow ledge, Kirara hard on his heels. Naraku was going to pay, and pay dearly—he would make sure of it.

Then they were at the top of the plateau. A narrow strip of ground, perhaps five feet wide, ran between the castle wall and the edge of the cliff, and from a balcony three stories over their head two figures regarded them with matching icy gazes, one streaked in red. 

"KKagome?" he heard Sango gasp. 

"What's wrong with her?" Shippô's grip on his shoulder tightened, and he could feel him start to shake.

[AN: Woot! Seven and a half pages, and I haven't even gotten to the real fun! This chapter looks like it's going to be longer than normal!]

"Kagome?" Miroku called up to her. 

"Leave this poor girl alone!" Naraku retorted. "You and your lies have hurt her enough!"

Sango shifted, her fingers tightening on the straps of Hiraikotsu as her anger mounted. "Lies?!" she demanded. "What lies?"

"Silence! Your deception ends now!" 

Kagome said nothing.

"That's _it."_ Shippô found himself dropped callously onto the ground, and then Inuyasha soared into the air again, landing on the balcony with a thump, face grim. "Better have funeral plans, Naraku," he snarled. "And someone nearby with something to scrape you up with when I'm finished."

Kagome's eyes, dull blue, were locked on him, but she still didn't speak from behind Naraku.

"Not likely," Naraku replied, voice calm. "You've plagued my poor dear for too long. Isn't that right, Kagome?"

Her mouth opened, blood drying on her chin. "Yes. Leave me alone."

Naraku turned around to face Inuyasha, his back to her. "Don't you see?" A triumphant leer spread across his face. "She is _mine_ now."

Then he froze. His pupils narrowed to pinpricks, face paling, and he whirled around—letting Inuyasha get a clear view of the knife buried, to the hilt, in Naraku's back.

Kagome glared fiercely at him, the light back in her eyes, one of her daggers missing from its sheath. 

"K-Kagome?" Naraku stammered, for once at a loss.

"Like my friends would betray me," she said, voice full of more hatred than Inuyasha thought she had in her. "Like I would turn against them. Like I would fall for your petty tricks."

"Y-You—" He began to laugh, blood showing at the corner of his mouth. "You deceived _me_ Oh, congratulations, Kagome, you _are_ a dear." Reaching around, he pried the knife from his back and licked the blood off. "But it'll take more than your little knife to kill _me._ I'm a _demon._"

"You _bastard,"_ Inuyasha growled, and Naraku turned to face him.

It was all the distraction Kagome needed.

She swung her heavily chained fists into the side of his head, the blow weighted by the same shackles that bound her and her power. He staggered into the balcony railing, which groaned under the strain. Kagome kicked him in the chest. It was too much for the railing, which gave way.

He plunged down the three stories, landing on the ledge of the bare land with a sickening crunch before it crumbled underneath him. In a tangle of black hair and white fur, he vanished over the edge of the cliff.

"I knew that," Kagome whispered. "I knew it would take more than that." A single tear slipped down her cheek.

Inuyasha could only stare at her for a moment. Knowing what most of her injuries were from her scent was one thing; seeing Kagome, his Kagome, in this state was another thing entirely. 

Yet there was something in her look, in the way she was standing, that said she still wasn't broken. 

Torture, near-execution, the shock of losing Kikyo—any of these would have destroyed anyone else. Yet here she was, still standing, bent but not broken.

Another tear fell down her cheek, followed by another, and she covered her eyes with a bloodied hand. She was sixteen, his mind argued. What kind of cruel fate put someone like her through this at just sixteen? 

He tenuously put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned, burying her face in his shirt. His arms settled awkwardly around her, trying not to brush any of her wounds, and she broke down.

"H-He _enjoyed_ it, he _l-liked _hurting me," she choked out. "He—he—" She couldn't continue.

"I know," Inuyasha said softly, wondering if there was any way he was going to forgive himself for allowing this to happen to her. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I'msorry."

Miroku, Sango, and Shippô landed on the rooftop nearby. "Is she going to be alright?" Miroku asked tensely.

"I don't know." He would have said more, but suddenly there was an explosion from behind him.

He lurched forward, doing his best to shield Kagome from the worst of the blast, ignoring the pain in his back. A hand seized his, and he was pulled away, holding onto Kagome tighter with his other arm.

"What the hell was that?" Miroku asked. He was the one who'd grabbed him.

"Damned if I know, but it doesn't look like it's someone who's all that fond of us." They landed on another rooftop, and he passed Kagome to Miroku. "If things get bad, you _have_ to take her away from here."

The monk nodded as Inuyasha drew the Tetsusaiga. Hiten and Manten appeared from the smoke, Manten grinning, Hiten watching them speculatively. He was carrying a long glaive that was much more dangerous than the initial glance portrayed: it could summon lightning, a force that destroyed without prejudice. The brothers were literally the only thing standing between them and the way back.

"Looks like we've got a couple of intruders, Manten," Hiten said brightly. "What do you think we should do with them?"

"Eat them," Manten grunted.

"Sounds good. Roasted or raw?"

"Doesn't matter," the larger one said, "as long as I can have the two girls."

"Oh no, we're splitting those," Hiten insisted. "I haven't had one for a long time."

"How about we kill you and solve everything?" Sango challenged, hurling Hiraikotsu at Hiten.

He swung the glaive up to meet it and was pushed back a few feet, eyes widening in surprise. Lowering the weapon, he let the boomerang slide off, and it returned to Sango's hand, her scarlet eyes blazing. "Impressive, mortal! Quite impressive!" He raised the glaive. "My turn now."

As he charged forward, electricity began to lash around the blade until it was alight with the dancing blue-whiteness. Inuyasha stepped in front of Sango, catching the glaive on Tetsusaiga's edge, and shoved hard. Hiten was thrust back, and he grinned. "Oh, well done, half-breed! I'll have to take you lot seriously nowReady, Manten?"

The battle began in earnest. Miroku, who was still purifying the demon energy from his system from the fight in the valley, stayed with Shippô and Kagome. Inuyasha was locked in combat with Hiten, while Manten was doing his best to catch the light-footed Sango and failing miserably. Finally, instead of trying to catch her, he halted and breathed in, the ball of lightning welling up in his throat again.

"Look out, Sango!" Miroku cried. 

Kirara dropped ten feet in the nick of time, just as a giant blast of electricity issued from Manten's jaws. Sango shielded her eyes, then looked around for the reptilian Thunder Brother, but he had gone. 

A rumble made her turn to where Miroku was standing guard over Kagome and Shippô. Manten was there, swiping at the priest, who was doing his best to fend him off but not having much success. 

She threw Hiraikotsu at him, but he heard it coming and batted it away, moving with surprising speed for such a large You\rquote re looking lovely,\rdblquote I said sarcastically. \ldblquote Is that a new monkey skin?\rdblquote \par He threw the baboon cape aside, watching me with cold eyes, and I studied his face, trying to memorize it in case I lived through this andÉhappened to run into him in the market? Not likely, but I might as well anyway. \ldblquote That\rquote s a pretty shade of eye shadow,\rdblquote I added. \ldblquote You know, my friends and I all admire your classic feminine beauty.\rdblquote \par \ldb skull, but Manten flicked him away with ease.

Inuyasha swung at Hiten, who dodged with ease, laughing. "I thought this would be more interesting, but so far you've disappointed," he mocked.

"Gee, sorry," Inuyasha snapped. "How much was Naraku paying you?"

"He wasn't," Hiten replied. "He said that when he was done with your little friend, we could have her." He grinned, licking his fangs, then glanced over at his brother. His eyebrows lifted, and he yelled, "Oy, Manten, don't kill her yet! I wanted to have some fun!"

Inuyasha whirled, only to find the other brother strangling Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippô all unconscious. 

Burning pain seared his shoulder, then roared all around him as the glaive's point drove into muscle and then electrocuted him. He forced his eyes open through the pain and thrust Tetsusaiga out, forcing Hiten to pull the blade out of his shoulder and fall back. "Did that hurt, half-breed?" he taunted. "I can just put you out of your misery now."

"You're going to be making that request soon," Inuyasha shot back through gritted teeth, his mind focusing on Kagome. "Don't underestimate me!"

The Tetsusaiga was flung with deadly aim, flying underneath Hiten's feet. "What the hell kind of shot was that?!" Hiten demanded indignantly. 

"A perfect one," Inuyasha retorted with a grim smirk.

There was a groan behind Hiten, and he turned around, disbelieving. 

Manten was speared on the Tetsusaiga, mouth open in shock. Kagome was released, stumbling as she landed and gasping for breath. There was a booming crash as Manten's body fell, almost on top of her.

"M-Manten?" Hiten's voice was no more than a whisper, but it rose. "Manten?!" 

Inuyasha ran over the rooftops and seized Kagome, Miroku, and Shippô, carrying them over to where Sango was groggily sitting up, some eighty feet from Manten's corpse. Before he could return for the Tetsusaiga, though, Hiten reached his brother's side.

__

"Manten!" The lightning demon was screaming his brother's name, tears rolling down his face. _"Manten, my brother!"_

"One down, one to go," Sango breathed. "Kagome, are you alright?"

"I'm not dead, if that's what you're asking," she said dryly, eyes still on Hiten. 

Then, to all their shock, the elder demon pulled out his brother's heart and bit viciously into it.

"Other than that being really, really gross, I don't think that's a good sign," Kagome said faintly. 

"He's ingesting his brother's powers." Miroku had awoken and was watching the spectacle with apprehension. "Now he's going to be twice as powerful, and twice as hard to defeat." One hand automatically went to the rosary beads, but Kagome caught it.

"Don't even think about using that," she ordered, eyes steely. "You can't take any demon energy right now or you'll die."

"I don't care."

To their surprise, it was Sango to answer that. "I do. We do. If you so much as touch those beads, priest, I will throw you off the roof." They all turned to stare at her, and her face turned about five different shades of red. "Shouldn't we be concentrating on the battle?" she said plaintively.

"Good idea." Inuyasha stood just as Hiten wiped his mouth on his sleeve, eyes murderous and watching them. 

"You are going to die, half-breed," he said, voice harsh. "You are going to die and I'm going to make it as slow and painful as possible."

"Fat chance," Inuyasha said, his gaze on the blade still embedded in Manten's back. He was all there was between Hiten and Kagome, but Hiten was between him and the Tetsusaiga.

Inuyasha charged at Hiten, growling, wondering how he was going to pull this off. His opponent was a full demon, twice as powerful as before, armed, and faster. He was a half demon, starting to be worn out, unarmed, and not as fast as he wished he was. 

He ducked under the glaive's sweep and dragged his claws up, aiming for Hiten's eyes. If he could hit those, maybe he'd have a bit of a break

The other demon moved faster than he could follow, and a moment later something jabbed into his back. He bit back a yell and darted forward, trying to get to the Tetsusaiga. 

Hiten suddenly appeared in front of him, the tip of the glaive sinking into Inuyasha's upper arm. "Going somewhere, weakling?" he asked, wrenching it free again. Lightning began to emerge from his mouth—he'd absorbed his brother's ability. 

Inuyasha reflected with strange calm that he was, in fact, doomed.

**__**

Use the scabbard! 

Inuyasha blinked, wondering if the pain was beginning to make him hallucinate. He could have sworn he'd just heard his father's voice.

**__**

You're not hearing things! Use the scabbard before you get roasted to death! Numbly, he pulled it from his belt and automatically held it in front of him. 

The explosion was all around him, but somehow, the scabbard was acting like a rock in the middle of a stream and making it part. The blinding light died down, and Inuyasha glanced behind him to make sure Kagome and the others had made it through. They were staring at him as though he was a ghost, Kagome particularly pale, although that was probably because of her injuries.

"How did you survive that?" Hiten demanded, furious.

"Wouldn't you like to know." He had _something,_ at least—there was a slight chance he could make it through this one. He ducked under Hiten's feet, still too far from Manten's body for his comfort, but the closer he could get, the better.

Hiten darted in front of him, blocking the way again, and cut down with the glaive. Inuyasha blocked it hastily, twisting the scabbard to try and disarm his foe, but it didn't work. Hiten was moving too fast for him to risk moving forward; if only there was a way to slow him down, _somehow._

Hiraikotsu spun out of nowhere, smashing into a wheel by his ankle that Inuyasha hadn't noticed before. Immediately, his foot dropped, as if he'd been running on wires, and Inuyasha was about to take advantage of the momentary distraction when Hiten's mouth started to bulge with lightning again. This time, however, it was not aimed at him.

"Oh, crap." Sango swallowed when the lightning demon turned those burning eyes on her. 

"Get my chains off," Kagome said suddenly.

"What?" Miroku looked over at her, startled.

"Help me get my chains off," she repeated urgently, "or we're going to be fried like chickens! I have an idea!"

Sango pulled a file from her sleeve and began sawing at one of the links, but it wasn't going fast enough "Hurry," Kagome urged, voice tense. 

"I'm trying!" The two locks of hair on either side of her face started waving, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up. 

The file broke through just as Hiten spewed out the lightning. It roared towards them, unstoppable, all too reminiscent of Sesshoumaru and the attack he'd used. The rattle of the chains falling was little distraction, and then the blazing white was upon them.

When his eyes cleared, Inuyasha only found smoke where his companions had been. Golden eyes lit in fury and turned on the laughing Hiten. "How sad," he chortled. "Not even a bone left."

Inuyasha slugged him in response, the impact knocking him to the ground. "You bastard," he growled. "_Damn_ you!"

"Oh, you actually liked the stinking humans?" Hiten asked, getting unsteadily to his feet. "I'll tell you right now, there's only one thing human males are good for, and that's making human girls. It's a shame I had to kill them, you know." He smoothly blocked Inuyasha's strike. "You know what I was going to do when I finished with you? I was going to take those two girls and show them exactly what they're good for. That girl with the boomerang—there's fun, but the other one_Rowr._ Oh, I was going to have _so_ much fun with her. She looked like the kind that would fight, and _man,_ I love that in a woman."

Before he could blink, the half-breed had seized him by the front of the robes and hurled him into the ground, headfirst. Not into the roof. Into the _ground._ This involved him crashing through the three floors between him and the ground, plowing through the wooden flooring on the bottom level, and slamming into the rock beneath it. In case there was any doubt as to what had just happened, Inuyasha dropped down beside him after a few seconds, the Tetsusaiga slung over his shoulder. [AN: Ithilwen—I think that's how it's spelled—this is for you. Any diehard Hiten fanswell, um, sorry.]

The next thing Hiten knew, he was flying through the air. He smashed into the wall, and the wood gave, spilling him out onto the courtyard. From out of the dust marched his death in red.

"Get up," Inuyasha ordered coldly. 

Hiten slowly got to his feet and tried to raise the lightning glaive, but it was struck aside like it weighed no more than a feather, though not knocked from his hands. Something flashed, and suddenly there was a line of pain across his belly. When he touched it, his hands came up scarlet. Impossiblethe half-breed had _wounded_ him? 

"If I weren't going to kill you, I'd tell you to never touch any girl ever again," Inuyasha snarled. "I'd tell you to never _think_ about Kagome again, but you killed her." 

Hiten stumbled back, fear actually beginning to gnaw at his heart. "Y-You can't kill me," he stammered. "You're only a _half-breed!_ I won't fall to a half-breed!"

"Funny how that works." Hiten was amazed to see the half-demon had bit his lip so hard that it had begun to bleed. Perhaps killing his companions had not been the wisest course of action 

He was going to die. The boy meant to kill him, and he'd succeed. Hiten turned and ran, though part of his mind whispered it was useless. 

There was a rush of air. Claws hooked into his back, pulling out chunks of flesh even as he was spun around, those same talons now digging into his shoulder, the tip of that long blade set against his chest. A low, growling voice whispered, "Burn in hell, you sonofabitch." 

The Tetsusaiga rammed through armor, through flesh, through bone, and Hiten let out one last, dying gasp, and collapsed, his body turning to dust after a moment. 

Inuyasha dropped to his knees, head bowed. If only he'd killed Hiten soonerIf only he hadn't even let Kagome look for Shippô on her own Now he'd lost them: he'd lost his friends, his companions, and it was his fault.

__

"Damn you, Hiten!" Why? Why did this always happen to him and the people he cared about? 

After a moment, he resignedly stood. The only thing he could do was see if there were any bones left to return with.

He jumped slowly from rooftop to rooftop until he came to the one where the battle had been on and, wincing, made himself look at where, instead of his friends, the last time he'd checked there had been smoke; he was expecting no more than a large scorch mark.

Instead, they were all there, a little sooty but alive, in a close knot bordered by a ring of _something_ on the ground

Kagome's hands were free, and he realized what the ring was: her chains. They'd blocked her power—of course—they wouldn't allow any form of power inside of them. She'd shielded them from the blast.

"Did you win?" Miroku asked pleasantly, looking for all the world as if he was discussing the result of a card game.

"Yeah," he said after a moment, voice perilously close to croaking, "I won."

"What's the matter?" Sango was leaning on Hiraikotsu, but appeared relatively unharmed.

"He thought we died," Shippô said impishly from Kagome's arms. "I heard him an' Hiten talking."

Shippô had heard? Oh, gods, what had he said? He'd been too angry to remember He could have said anything

A scent floated past his nose, one that he knew too well, one that, by rights, shouldn't have been there. 

Something white flashed between him and his companions, and Miroku and Sango both cried out, Miroku falling to his knees, Sango staggering back and falling against Kirara. The white shape landed about twenty feet away, grinning, his fist clenched around something. "Thank you for your shards," Naraku said cheerfully. "They'll be put to good use, believe me. And it takes more than a cliff to kill me, dear Kagome. I'm a demon."

Inuyasha charged towards him, swinging the Tetsusaiga. It sliced through the man in the baboon pelt, only for him to collapse, turning to earth. The shards were thrown into the air, falling out of sight past the roof, and Kagome and Inuyasha simultaneously ran to the edge.

The true Naraku was below, floating on a cloud of white vapors. He caught the shards, examining them, then bowed to them and vanished. He'd gone, and he'd taken Miroku and Sango's shards with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Okay, this chapter was longer than normal. u.u I hated writing the torture bit with Kagome, though—when he stabbed her in the arm I was like "Oh, yuck, ow, GOD I hate Naraku" The funny thing is, I was going over an old story of mine, and I have come to a sudden realization. My reaction to a mushy part: XP "Yeah, yeah, moving on" My reaction to remembering a bit of a battle scene was coming up: :D "Yay! Battle scene! Battle scene!"

This leads me to believe that Tylenol Sinus has made me more violent-minded. Don't worry, there will be IY/Kag parts, but it won't be complete sap. There are only a few more chapters after this—this chapter was the beginning of the end, as it were. In the next chapter, though, things are really_ going to start clearing up. Hint: what everyone believes to be true may not be strictly accurate, and the reasons for certain events and facts are going to be revealed_


End file.
